


A Roommate and A Sister

by loler182



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: College, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:19:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25841968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loler182/pseuds/loler182
Summary: College life had never been so hectic, and now his sister turned roommate is acting weirdly. Is he interpreting all of her subtle moves correctly, or is all of this just a figment of his wild imagination? Whatever it is, this one weekend will rock the foundations of their relationship, and probably change their lives forever. Lynncoln.
Relationships: Lincoln Loud & Lynn Loud Jr., Lincoln Loud/Lynn Loud Jr.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 42





	1. Movie Night

The white-haired boy - well, teenager now - breathed a sigh of relief, tinged with a hint of exhaustion. He was finally at the door to his apartment. It'd been a long and harrowing day at college, having faced neverending lectures and working on the many assignments being piled onto him by his less than likeable professors.

His body noticeably slumped against the door, fatigue quickly overwhelming his senses. He twisted the doorknob lazily and threw open the door, throwing his backpack haphazardly onto a nearby chair. Before he knew it, his mind had subconsciously guided him onto the couch, and soon enough, his world went dark.

….

"Hey.."

He felt a hand ruffle the top of his head, followed by the sensation of a finger booping the tip of his nose. Whoever it was doing this sure wanted to yank him out of his relaxing afternoon nap.

"-coln.."

He let out an exasperated groan as his eyelids slowly fluttered open. His ears, asleep seconds ago along with the rest of his body, quickly picked up the sound of a feminine and familiar voice right above his face.

"C'mon, wake up Stinkcoln," the voice said just as Lincoln felt his head being ruffled again, this time a little rougher than the last. He grumbled, pushing himself up from the couch before stretching his arms into the air.

"Mhm.. I'm up, I'm up.." he yawned.

His eyes, although heavy from his sleep just seconds ago, relaxed at the sight of the person in front of him; his roommate.. and sister.

"Hey Lynn.." he greeted sleepily.

"Took you long enough," the brunette chided. "Now get your butt off the couch cuz' I got us some chinese takeout."

Lynn Loud; star athlete and a student of sports science. At 20 years old, she stood tall, but still noticeably shorter than Lincoln's height. She still wore her hair in the usual ponytail, but in the house, she'd let it down and let her hair flow freely. Of course, she still wore an article of clothing with the number 1 on it, this time being a red jacket rather than her old white and red jersey from her middle-school days.

Lincoln's eyes trailed his older sister as she walked towards the kitchen. He scanned the room, noticing that the bright day had turned into night. How long had he slept?

"Uhh, Lynn.. what time is it?" he asked.

"About 8-ish.." he heard her say from the kitchen.

"8 'o' clock.. Shit.." he grumbled. As he stood on his two legs, he could feel the blood rushing from his head to his feet, and his entire world went tipsy for a few seconds. He absolutely hated that feeling.

With his feet lazily grinding against the floor, he made his way to the kitchen to find Lynn already gorging down into her box of chow mein. He grabbed the other white box on the table, sitting down and opening it up to find a piping hot serving of General Tso's chicken - his favourite.

"Thanks Lynn.." he said with a smile.

"No problemo," she replied. She hadn't changed much compared to her 13 year-old self when it came to eating; she still gobbled it down like a starving wolf.

He watched her eat, his eyes relaxing at the familiar sight.

"It's nice to finally see you back, Lynn," Lincoln said before digging into his delicious chicken.

He could see his sister cock her eyebrows from across the small table. "What are you talking about, bro? You're acting like I've been gone for ages," she said while letting out a small little chuckle.

"It _has_ felt like ages. I don't think we've actually had dinner together like this since.." The gears in his head started spinning trying to remember the last time they'd done something like this. "Since.. two weeks ago I'd say," he said as he rubbed his chin.

He could see Lynn's previous look of disbelief quickly disappearing once she realised that he was actually right. "Shit.. it really _has_ been that long, hasn't it?"

"Yea.. yea it has.."

Their conversation slipped into silence as they continued to eat their food. Still, it was nice to finally have her company again. She'd been really absent from the apartment for all he could remember, and for all those days, he'd felt like a big part of him was missing. But this was _nothing_ compared to the hollow emptiness he'd felt when Lynn first left for college.. but that was a story for another time.

Speaking of college, he could still remember when he got the offer to his university, and funnily enough, it was the same one Lynn was going to. Their parents, in a bid to save some money, made the decision to rent an apartment for both him and Lynn to share together. If Lynn was ever reluctant about the whole idea, she didn't show it, and instead she seemed quite enthusiastic about it as Lincoln recalled. As for Lincoln, well, he'd been Lynn's roommate once in his life, so it wouldn't hurt to be her roommate again. But he'd be lying to himself if he didn't admit that he was a _little_ more than enthusiastic to bunk with Lynn..

His trip down memory lane was cut short when he heard Lynn let out an audible, deep sigh.

"Sorry about.. being away for so long. I've just been having a pretty shitty two weeks..," she said as she poked the remains of her food. "Those stupid professors keep giving me so many assignments. And to add even more shit to my plate, I have another match to prepare for next week.." She sighed even heavier this time.

Lincoln felt bad for her. If he thought he had a shitty week, then Lynn must've had a double serving of shit. "You don't have to apologize, Lynn. You know that.."

"Yea, yea I know. It's just-," she sighed again before continuing, "I _feel_ bad for leaving you like that."

"Lynn.. C'mon, you shouldn't feel bad about that.."

"Look, I-I don't even know what I'm saying.. My brain's all wrecked with stress and shit, but I guess I just.." For a moment, he swore he could see her cheeks quickly flush red. "I just.. I've missed you, _dork_.."

_'She missed me?'_ Did he hear that right? "Aww, Lynn.."

However, Lincoln's heartfelt moment was cut short when Lynn fisted his shoulder.

"Oww.." he groaned as he rubbed his shoulder, but thankfully this time she hadn't hit as hard as she normally did.

"Two-for-flinching, Stincoln," she snarkily said. "And don't think you'll ever hear sappy crap like that from me again."

_'Yup.. this is the Lynn I know alright..'_ Lincoln chuckled internally. But he still couldn't bear to see his sister so stressed like that. There had to be something he could do to make her day - wait, there was!

A smirk grew on the edge of his lips. "Y'know Lynn, I think there is something we can do together that'll get you to relax."

Lynn raised her eyebrow as she looked at him curiously. "Oh, and what could that be?"

"Two words. Movie. Night."

The gloomy look on Lynn's face quickly turned into a small grin. "Now, that doesn't sound too bad."

"It isn't _bad_ at all. C'mon, why don't you relax on the couch while I go and prepare some popcorn for us, eh?" Lincoln proposed with a genuine smile on his face.

That grin on her face turned into the sweetest smile he'd seen on her in awhile. "Thanks, Linc." She began to walk away to the living room before she stopped in her tracks. "Wait, what movie are we watching?"

"Hmm.. That's a good question," Lincoln said as he rubbed his chin.

"I'm pretty beat to choose. So I'll let you decide."

"Alright, umm.." he tried searching his mind for a good idea. "Ah! What about Tropic Thunder?"

"Never heard of that one. But I guess if you think it's good, then it should _probably_ be good," Lynn said, chuckling a little at Lincoln's excitedness.

"Oh, trust me! I _know_ that this'll help get that stress outta your system," he said almost matter-of-factly.

"Well, whatever you say Linc," she said, shooting Lincoln a soft smile.

Lynn made her way to the couch while Lincoln prepared a bowl of popcorn.

Ah, he finally felt happy today! The exhausting grind of college work had been eating away at his soul for the past week, but tonight was the night he could finally relax and spend time with Lynn! This night couldn't possibly get any better.

"Yo hurry up Lame-O!"

"Alright, alright, calm down!" Lincoln chuckled to himself, _'Some things never change..'_

Now, they were both at the couch ready to commence the weekly ritual of movie-watching. With a bowl of cheap popcorn in Lincoln's lap, they were all set.

"Let's get this started!"

Tropic Thunder was always a movie that Lincoln could rely on to turn his shitty day into a decent day - and tonight was no exception. The both of them laughed till their sides felt like falling out.

"Oh, oh god! That's hilarious!"

The particular scene with Tom Cruise had Lynn busting her guts out in hysterical laughter. She'd always been one to giggle at the occasional curse-filled outburst, and this scene was that but on steroids.

As the movie went on, they hadn't realized how close they huddled to each other. They were now shoulder-to-shoulder, and whatever space there was between them before this had been closed. They had never felt so relaxed in all these two weeks apart, and now, laughing their throats out together like this was the highlight of their terrible weeks of torture.

Lincoln subconsciously had his arms sprawled out on the frame of the couch, his one arm sitting directly behind Lynn's head. Soon after, he felt a weight settling onto his shoulder. Turning to his side, he found Lynn comfortably resting her head there, giggling to herself as she watched the movie. It soothed his heart to see her so happy. But something about the position they were in reminded him of something.. he just couldn't put his finger on it.

He felt Lynn relaxing deeper into his shoulder, hearing her let out a sigh. He then felt a set of warm fingers setting themselves onto his knuckles - it was Lynn's. It hit him then; the position they were in - it reminded him of a couple..

_'No.. No, that's wrong! We- We don't look like a couple, r-right?'_

If only he could take a look at himself, then he'd see how closely his cheeks resembled the colour of a ripened tomato. Thankfully Lynn didn't bother to turn to his side, because if she did, then she would totally notice how red his face was. But it didn't help the situation when Lynn began interlacing his fingers with his, her palm resting directly on the back of his hand and all her five fingers nestled comfortably between his.

By now, Lincoln's attention had been averted away from the movie and instead towards controlling the heat rising to his cheeks. Sure, they'd held hands before, but that was when they were kids! And this.. this felt totally different.

He glanced at Lynn, hoping to see some sort of look on her face so that he could decipher her intentions. And he did, in fact, notice in the dim light of the TV her reddened cheeks.

Whatever it was she was trying to do, he didn't try to think too hard about it, and instead he eased into it. This time, he moved his arm from atop the frame of the couch and rested it gently onto Lynn's shoulder. As gently as he could, he pulled her in closer, letting her body rest deeper by his side.

His heart was beating fast, and for all that was good he didn't want to know why. But it sure did beat faster when he felt Lynn moving around beside him. Expecting her to move away, instead, she relaxed even deeper into him, her whole body leaning comfortably against him. He could feel her looking up at him, and with that, he turned and shot her a sweet smile.

"You feeling comfortable there, Lynn?"

Even through that raging blush on her cheeks, Lynn managed to answer, although barely hiding that stutter in her voice. "Oh shut up, Stincoln. You're just naturally warm, a-alright?"

Just to hide any nervousness she was outwardly displaying, she momentarily lifted herself from Lincoln's shoulder and fisted it, although _way_ softer than usual.

"Geez, if you say so," he chuckled. He didn't have the opportunity to rub his fisted shoulder like he usually did, since Lynn had gone back to leaning her head very comfortably against it. Not that he minded it in the least.

He heard a low little chuckle from Lynn. "And besides, this gives me a lot more access to the popcorn you've been hoggin' to yourself all this time."

"What the heck are you talking about? I haven't been hogging the popcorn," Lincoln snarkily replied back as he used his free hand to stuff his face full of the puffy yellow goodness.

"Oh-ho, so that's how it is, huh?" Lynn playfully snatched the bowl from his lap, earning her the (pretend) ire of Lincoln. "Not anymore, Stincoln!"

"Now _you're_ the one hogging it!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yes-uh!"

They scrambled at each other and laughed while they did so, trying to gain dominance over the sacred popcorn bowl. It felt like ages since they'd fooled around like this.. And Lincoln couldn't have been any happier.

Shortly after, they settled back into their comfortable positions once Lincoln had established his dominance over the bowl, much to Lynn's (pretend) sulking. They turned back their attention to the movie and watched in silence, relaxing into each other again.

"Y'know Stink- Lincoln.." he heard her voice break the comfortable silence.

"Yea?"

"Thanks.. really."

"For what?" he asked with obvious confusion to his voice.

"For.. y'know.. helping me relax. This is just what I need after the rough weeks I've been having," she sighed.

"Don't mention it, sis. I mean, what are siblings for, amirite?"

" _Other_ than annoying the living hell out of each other? Yea, maybe you have a point there," she laughed.

But right after that, he swore he could hear her mumbling something under her breath, but it was too soft to hear.

He didn't have much time to ponder on it though once Lynn spoke again, "And Linc.."

"Mm?"

"I've missed you.."

He let out a deep sigh, one full of relief and content. "I've missed you too, Lynn.."

Ironic, they lived under the same roof, slept a room apart, and yet it felt like they hadn't seen each other in eons. But alas, college life has a tendency to do that sometimes..

They say nothing for the remainder of the movie. Lincoln doesn't know what to think of the whole situation that he's found himself in, but there is _one_ thing that he is sure of; he's never felt so comfortable being with Lynn ever before in his life.

The movie continues on, and once the credits roll, he hears a light snore coming from beside him. He doesn't need to look beside him to know that it's Lynn, but he does so anyway. She looked so peaceful, her face showing content and peace as she slept on his shoulder. It was kinda infectious actually, since now _he_ was starting to feel sleepy himself. He rested his head gently onto Lynn's, and before he knew it, the lights were out once again.


	2. Weird Feelings

Lincoln squinted his eyes. The morning sun was really starting to irritate him. He tried to lift his hand up to cover his face, but he felt something heavy blocking him from doing that. Then he remembered; Lynn.. He glanced to his side and found her still asleep comfortably against his shoulder, feeling her breath tickling the skin on his neck.

By the looks of it, the day was already deep into the morning. He took a look at his wrist watch on his other hand and saw the time.

 _'Ughh.. 10 'o' clock? Damn..'_ Thank God it was Saturday, because on any other day, they wouldn't have had the luxury to sleep in this late.

As he sat there, trying to remain as still as he could as Lynn continued her deep sleep by his side, all he could do was use his phone or ponder. He decided to do the latter. And ponder he did.

He thought about his relationship with Lynn. They'd always been close, heck, _really_ close if he was being honest with himself. As much as she was always brash and rough with him, he knew that she did it as a sign of her affection, and fisting his shoulders and giving him the name 'Stinkoln' was her way of showing that love.

He always felt so much closer to her than he usually did with the rest of his sisters like Lucy or Lori. Maybe it was because of how close he was with her in age. But that didn't explain the feelings he felt whenever he was with her. And those feelings only intensified as the years went on, until.. until..

He sighed, remembering those two odd years after Lynn had left for college. He shuddered to remember those days, but his brain seemed to disagree, cause now all he could think about _was_ those days. He could remember it all too clearly..

_2 days after her departure~_

_He lied on his bed, looking solemnly at the ceiling. He hadn't felt this sad since Ronnie Anne left Royal Woods a few years back. Why was he feeling this way, anyway? He'd known that she would be leaving for college for a long time now. He'd been happy for her when she got the offer, even planned a whole party just to congratulate her. She deserved it.. But goddammit why was he feeling this way?_

_He turned and tossed in his bed. Maybe it was the realisation that he'd lost one of his bestest friends. Sure, he had Clyde, but that was different. This time, it felt like he'd lost a part of himself. Over the years, they'd grown so close to each other that they were almost inseparable, like Leni and Lori, two peas in a pod. Maybe this was what Leni felt like when Lori left for college.._

_It didn't help that besides him on the wall were all the photos of him and Lynn. There were ones of when they went ice-skating together, Lynn's little selfie when she tried to cheer him up one day.. and oh, there was one when he went as her plus-one for her school homecoming. But what stood out to him the most was a photo that their Dad had managed to snap, and it was_ old, _like_ really _old_. _It was a photo of a young Lynn, probably 6 years old, sleeping with him in the newly converted linen closet that was now his room. He was probably only 4 years old in the picture, and he was cuddling onto Lynn like his life depended on it._

_He vaguely remembered that night. He'd just moved into his new room after most of his life sleeping with his big sis. Now, he was going to have a room all to himself, and he was going to be all alone at night. He remembered when he called out to Lynn, sobbing in the night as he curled up in his blanket. He had his bun-bun, but that wasn't a substitute for the comfort he had when Lynn was around._

_Then, like an angel he'd heard from the stories, Lynn came in. She promptly snuggled into his bed and held him close, soothing him so that he could sleep. She did that every night until she knew her little bro was confident enough to sleep alone._

_A smile crept up to his lips. The two of them had always been the closest since they were toddlers. She was his first friend, and back then, they were absolutely inseparable. He was sure that at some point in time, they'd made a promise that they would be by each other's side forever, and that their friendship would last forever and ever._

_Maybe_ that _was it. Their friendship.. Maybe he was feeling this way because he was scared that their friendship would eventually wither away now that they were apart. The smile on his face shattered almost instantly. Oh, he could feel his gut drop and the anxiety roll in. He didn't feel too good. He curled up into a ball, wishing he hadn't thought of that._

_There was no way that would happen, right? They were best friends forever! And siblings to add to that! Siblings don't drift apart, r-right? Right?_

_That day, he lied on his bed for what seemed like hours. Everyone eventually caught on to his sadness. His younger sisters tried to cheer him up along with his mom and dad, but it changed nothing. He still felt empty and lost inside, and little did he know that it would last for an entire month._

Lincoln could feel his entire body shudder at the pitiful memory. Gosh, he hated those times. But who knew that a few years later, he'd be going to the same college as her _and_ shared an apartment with her? Life had a strange way of playing out.

But all that memory digging had eventually led him to the start of why he was thinking about all of this in the first place; his feelings for Lynn. He didn't like dwelling on these feelings. They felt.. odd, conflicting, painful even.. Sure, he loved Lynn, just like any brother loves his sister. But the thing was that he _loved_ her. He didn't know what type of _love_ that was, and he didn't want to find out. All he was sure of was that he wouldn't let anyone find out. Not even Lynn herself. That is.. until yesterday.

Yesterday was different than anything he'd ever done with Lynn. It was almost like.. like she was flirting with him. The hand-holding, the cuddling, and minus the fight they had over popcorn, it felt like she was sending him signals. But he was scared that this was all just some sort of sick way that his mind was interpreting the situation. Maybe it was just Lynn being the usual Lynn, and it was her way of showing how much she'd missed him. Or maybe it _was_ something else..

He didn't know what to think, and he knew that he shouldn't try to dwell on it either. All he knew was that his unrequited love, whatever the sort it was supposed to be, would never be revealed to Lynn. He was happy enough just being by her side here in college. That was all he really needed…

He felt the very person he'd been thinking about for the past half-an-hour finally rustle beside him. She slowly opened her eyes, not leaving her comfortable position beside him. She lifted a hand to her face and promptly wiped the drool dripping from the edge of her lips. She rested there on his shoulder for a few minutes as she tried to regain her senses.

"Morning, Lynn," Lincoln greeted with a smile.

"Hey, morning Linc.." she said as she yawned. As she began to take herself off of Lincoln, she suddenly felt an aching pain course through her body. Lincoln could see her cringe in pain as she rubbed her neck and back.

"Ah crap, my neck feels like total shit right now.. Oh, and so does my back," she groaned. "But I guess that's what I get for sleeping on your shoulder huh?"

"Need me to give you a massage sis?"

"Pfft.. a massage?" He expected her to give back a snide remark and reject his offer, but instead, she responded oppositely. "S-Sure, I guess."

He gladly obliged and got to work on her shoulders. He always did give her the occasional deep tissue massage back when they were younger. He didn't know if he ever did it right, but she always seemed satisfied after every session, so he didn't think about it too much.

He pressed his thumbs into her neck, ironing and smoothing out any knots in her muscles. That elicited a moan from Lynn, and thankfully it was her back facing him because if not, she would've noticed the obvious red blush on his cheeks.. and the bulge in his pants.

He mentally cursed himself. _'Goddammit Lincoln snap the fuck out of it! She's your sister for crying out loud!'_

"Oh yea~, that's the spot. I haven't had a massage from you since before I left college.." she said as her tense muscles eased into his hands.

"Well, it looks like I've still got it." Lincoln said as he tried his best to compose himself. He continued to massage her neck before moving down to her backside.

"Hey Linc.."

"Hmm?" he hummed.

"You wanna go grab some breakfast with me after this?"

"I think it's a little too late for breakfast, Lynn.." The time on his watch seemed to confirm that since it was already half past eleven.

"Fine, lunch then, yeesh. But you down with it or what?"

"That _depends_.. what do you have in mind?" That was a lie, he would be down no matter where they went as long as he got to spend time with Lynn - not that he'd tell her that.

"There's this good deli that sells some amazing subs that ain't too far from here. You down with _that_?"

"Sure, Lynn." But just then, he felt something damp on his shoulder. It was Lynn's drool.. "Just uhh.. lemme take a bath first."

At that moment, she turned her head to see Lincoln cringing at the drool on his shoulder. Her face lit up red in embarrassment. "S-Sorry about that Linc."

"Don't worry about it Lynn. Now, turn around, I'm not done with you yet," he chuckled.

"Yea, yea Lame-O."

After he was done giving Lynn a massage, Lincoln went into the bathroom and turned the shower on. Taking off his clothes, he took notice of his reflection in the mirror. He still had the scrawny physique he'd had since he was a child. Being Lynn's training buddy had given him some lean muscles, but after she left for college, his lack of exercise eventually turned him back into the scrawny kid he always was. A small frown formed on his face. How could someone so athletic and fit like Lynn hang out with a scrawny runt like him? The only reason they were ever close was because they were siblings..

Lincoln promptly slapped himself, physically, to stop the onslaught of thoughts that his brain was throwing at him. He really needed to stop himself from thinking too much..

He got into the shower, and after a relaxing 10 minutes, he got out. He haphazardly wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way out of the bathroom.

"Lynn, shower's all yours," he called into the living room.

He saw Lynn attentively using her phone before looking up to see him. But something odd happened. Her deadpan face quickly bore on a deep red colour all over her cheeks.

"Oh, y-yea.. Sure Linc." Her eyes seemed to be scanning him. He could _feel_ her eyes tracing the outline of his body. Wait.. Was she.. checking him out? No, there was no way..

"Uhh, L-Lynn, is there something wrong?" Lincoln asked, a little - well, very - perplexed by Lynn's behaviour.

That seemed to snap her out of her trance. She shook her head, like she was trying to bring herself back into reality. "Yeah! Yeah.. Wait, no! Nothing's wrong Linc!"

She quickly rushed from the couch towards the bathroom, speed-walking and avoiding eye contact with him as she did. Once he heard the bathroom door slam to a close, Lincoln was left standing there bamboozled as ever.

"What the hell just happened?"


	3. The Invite

The walk to the deli was uneventful. Lynn seemed to be acting like her normal self, but Lincoln just couldn't stop thinking about what had happened just now. Did he see things right? Was Lynn really ogling at his body? Even if he _was_ right, what was there to even look at? A scrawny, thin body that would make even a bulimic laugh? Okay, maybe that was going too far. But still.. none of it made any sense. Maybe he was just imagining things, and maybe she was just staring at something else.

He glanced towards Lynn. For the entire walk, she'd been pretty quiet. She said nothing about the whole incident and she acted like it never even happened.. And maybe he should too.

He didn't know how far the deli was from their apartment, but the path did take them through the university campus. The campus grounds were bustling with life, students and faculty members frolicking about even on a Saturday afternoon. As they made their way through the campus grounds, Lincoln could see a girl approaching their direction from the corner of his eye. The girl got closer until she started shouting Lynn's name.

"Lynn! Lynn!" the girl called out.

Lynn immediately looked towards her, her face lighting up as she saw her friend. "Yo! Wassup Juniper," she greeted as she fist-bumped the girl.

"What's up Lynner. Have I got _news_ for you." Juniper noticed Lincoln beside Lynn, "And sup' Lincoln. Long time no see."

"Hey Juniper," he greeted with a smile. He'd known Juniper since the first day he'd arrived at campus. Apparently she was Lynn's new best friend in university, so of course she had to introduce him to her first.

"What _news_ are we talkin' about here Juniper? It better not be anything about the biology assignment," Lynn groaned.

"C'mon girl, why would I chase you down just to talk about the stupid bio assignment? No, _this_ is big! Like, _really big_!"

"Well, don't leave me in suspense," Lynn chuckled.

"Alright, so there's gonna be this party in one of the frat houses. Everyone - and I mean everyone - is invited! And it's tonight!" Juniper exclaimed. "You and I should totally go!"

Lynn rubbed the back of her neck. "Ehh.. I don't know.. I'm not exactly the party-goer type, June.."

"Oh c'mon, Lynn! It'll be fun, trust me! And I heard that some of the boys will be there _too~_!" she said as she winked her eyebrows and nudged Lynn with her elbow.

Lynn still seemed a little apprehensive, but she was slowly easing up onto the idea. " _Weelll_.. I'll think about it, June."

"Hmph, well you better come along," Juniper feigned disappointment. Her eyes turned to Lincoln, who for the entire conversation had looked on at them with an uninterested look on his face. "Hey Lincoln, why don't you go too? Maybe that'll convince Lynn to come along," she winked.

"Uhh.. I'll uhh, think about it," Lincoln said with a nervous chuckle. In truth, he absolutely hated frat parties.

"Pfft. Fine. But please please _please_ come along! I swear it'll be fun!" Juniper said as she wore pleading eyes to the both of them.

"I'll think about it, June. I'll tell you once I've decided," Lynn said.

"Ugh, fine," Juniper groaned. She then took a look at her wristwatch. "Oh snap! I gotta go. I'll see you guys later, and don't forget; tomorrow night!"

"Yea, yea I won't. See ya June," Lynn said as she waved her hand.

"Bye Juniper!"

Now that that was out of the way, they continued to walk to the deli. Along the way, Lincoln couldn't help but ask, "So uhh.. what do you think?"

"About what?" Lynn asked.

"About the party, duh. You thinking of going?"

"I dunno Linc. I'm not one for parties. Unless of course it involves a football game or wrestling match, which I'm _totally_ down with."

"Heh. I thought you'd be a lot more interested. I mean, there _are_ boys there..," he said slyly as he waggled his eyebrows.

However, instead of the snide remark he'd expected from Lynn, her face contorted a bit, as if she was taken aback and uncomfortable at the whole mention of boys. He also noticed her starting to fidget uncomfortably.

"Pfft. The only boys that are gonna be there are the frat boys and jocks," she said with a nervous laugh.

"I thought you were interested in jocks? Aren't you?" Lincoln asked curiously. Lynn was a jock, so she _had_ to be attracted to someone who shared the same interests, right?

Her face scrunched up as she looked towards Lincoln. "Just because I'm some jock, you think I should be attracted to jocks too?" she said almost angrily.

"I.. uhh.. I didn't mean it like that.." He had no idea how to respond. He must have struck a chord somewhere inside of her. "S-Sorry for assuming stuff like that.."

He was pretty sure she noticed the sorry look on his face, because she replied more apologetically now. "No, don't worry about it, Stincoln. Truth is, I don't even know _who_ I'm attracted to…" she sighed. "My love life ain't exactly existent y'know."

He raised one of his eyebrows. "But didn't you have Francisco back in Royal Woods?"

"Francisco?" she said as she let out a little laugh. "It didn't even last for a day, and I was probably only attracted to him because of dehydration or some bullshit like that."

"Well, that's news to me." For some reason, that new shred of information about Lynn made him feel.. happy. He even let out a little laugh of relief.

"Yeah, I guess us sisters have been prying so much into _your_ love life that we didn't bother to tell you anything about ours," Lynn chuckled. "What about you? Got anyone you like here?"

Lincoln felt a stray bead of sweat roll down his forehead. Why did she have to go and ask _that_ question? Well, he pretty much brought this on himself. But he was still going to stick to what he'd told himself; never tell Lynn.

"Oh, y'know.. maybe?"

He swore he could see a flash of disappointment appear on Lynn's face. But it disappeared as quickly as it came, and instead replaced with a look of curiosity. "Oh? Maybe? C'mon, tell me who the lucky girl is."

"I c-can't tell you. I haven't even asked her out yet.." Lincoln chuckled nervously. _'What the fuck am I doing?!'_

"Then go and ask her out then!" Lynn exclaimed as she threw an arm around Lincoln's shoulders.

"You really think so?" he asked. "You really think she'd like someone like me? A scrawny, meek kid whose only decent talent is drawing stupid art?"

Lynn's enthusiastic face quickly morphed into shock. She was so shocked in fact that she stopped abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk and pulled Lincoln towards her.

"Lincoln. What. The fuck. Are you talking about?"

He didn't expect such a strong response like that from her that it almost scared him. "L-Lynn?"

There was a fiery look to her eyes, one that would've scared the living shit out of anyone other than her siblings. "Lincoln, anyone - and I mean anyone - who would reject you either has to be insane or downright stupid."

Lincoln didn't expect something like this coming at all! Judging earlier by her pissed-off look, he thought she was going to give him a beating for his self-pity. She seemed so unusually passionate about this whole thing. Where was this coming from?

Lynn continued, "You have a heart of gold, you're kind, you're sweet.. and.." Her cheeks blushed red while she paused her passionate pep talk for a moment. ".. And anyone who doesn't see that is an idiot.."

Lincoln was at a loss for words. He could never have imagined that she cared so much about what other people thought of him. But what astounded him even more was.. was that how _she_ thought of him?

"Lynn.." Before he could say anything else, he was met with a fist to his shoulder. "Oww! Lynn!"

He could see Lynn beside him with a sleazy smile on her face. "Enough with that sappy shit, Lame-O. Now c'mon, we're almost at the deli."

Lincoln rolled his eyes. He muttered under his breath, "So much for a tender moment.."

But he took advantage of the situation, draping an arm around Lynn's shoulders as they walked. "Still though, thanks Lynn. For the pep talk, I mean."

"Heh, don't mention it. I know you'll get that girl eventually," she said, although a small, barely audible sigh came after that, but audible enough for Lincoln to hear.

By this point, his brain was too tired to bother deciphering her micro-mannerisms. He thought too much, and he knew that. So for now, he'd just turn his think-tank off and have a good lunch at the deli.

It was now evening. Lincoln laid head down on his work desk. He'd been spending so much time with Lynn this weekend that he'd forgotten to work on his assignments. And the best part? They were all due _tomorrow._ Who the hell sets due dates on a weekend?!

He felt like dying on the spot. The amount of work he'd have to do to get it done by tonight would require an all-nighter. But, it seemed like that was going to be a necessity, because he sure as hell didn't want to fail this course.

He lazily took his head off his desk before rubbing his eyes. "Right," he sighed, "This is gonna take an ass ton of coffee."

He got up from his seat and made his way to the kitchen. But he was stopped midway by a certain someone. It was Lynn, and now she wore a red off-shoulder top coupled with grey jeans. She looked good, but what was the occasion?

She immediately went to Lincoln once he was in her sights. She looked jovial, upbeat, even a little excited, and he was about to find out why. "Heyo, Lincoln. Wanna tag along with me to the party tonight?"

_'Aah, the party.. right..'_

He had to admit, she looked cute in the outfit. It wasn't everyday she wore something as casual as that, since her usual attire was her sports jacket and track pants. And he felt like he could've admired her for days if he didn't need to answer her question.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Umm.. sorry Lynn. Don't think I can. Gotta pull an all-nighter tonight to finish up my assignments," he said apologetically.

"Aww c'mon, Linc," Lynn said, "It's not everyday that you get a chance to go to a party like this!" She slinked an arm around him, pulling him to her side. "Please, it'll be fun.."

She was giving him _that_ look. Y'know, the big-eyes-pleading look. And he was so close to breaking until his brain, for once, acted rationally and reminded him of the possible doom he'd face if he didn't get those assignments done pronto.

"Lynn, I seriously can't. I've got too much stuff to finish for tomorrow," he said.

Lynn sighed in disappointment, but she wasn't done yet. "Lincoln, _please_ , it'll just be you, me and Juniper. Just the three of us. We go there, have a little fun, get a few drinks and head out as soon as we can. I promise."

He could see that begging look in her eyes, and behind them, an even deeper look of sadness. She really was serious to go to this party.. Even though this afternoon she seemed nothing but reluctant to. What caused this change of heart?

That didn't matter though, because now he felt guilty. She was right, when would a chance like this ever pop up again? It wasn't everyday he'd get to experience the frat life. And with Lynn around, it didn't seem like such a bad proposition..

His mind was already easing away from the extreme conclusion he'd made just now to stay and finish his work. The more he thought about it, the more he realised how much he'd be missing out. And besides, maybe it was safer for him to be with Lynn so that he could, y'know, protect her from being taken advantage of. Not that she needed that kind of protection since she'd already been here for two years by herself but whatever..

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll go."

"Yes!" Lynn jumped in joy as she pumped her fists in the air. "Trust me Lincoln, you're not gonna regret this." She was absolutely excited, and maybe a little too excited, since she was already dragging Lincoln to the door before he could say anything else.

"Whoa, whoa hold up Lynn." He managed to pry himself from Lynn's tug before she could drag him out of the apartment. "I'm not going in this!" He was wearing a worn out t-shirt and sweatpants, something he wouldn't want the rest of the world to see him in. "Lemme get changed first."

"Fine Lame-O. But hurry up! June's waiting for us!"

After getting changed into a comfortable orange hoodie, Lincoln and Lynn were off to the party. If only he knew what a hell of night was awaiting him..


	4. The Party

As they walked, something was eating away at his thoughts; what the hell brought on this change of heart? At the deli this afternoon, she didn't seem to be all too enthusiastic about it. So what was it that caused _him_ of all people to be dragged out on a Saturday night to a stupid frat party? The only way he could find out was to ask Lynn herself.

"Yo, Lynn."

"Hmm?"

"What made you change your mind?"

"Change my mind about what?"

"The party, obviously."

She scrunched her face in thought. "Hmm.. I guess I just didn't want to let Juniper down," Lynn answered. It didn't sound convincing enough to Lincoln, so he went a little further.

"Are you sure? Then why the heck did I get dragged into this?"

Lynn's tongue seemed to be caught in her throat, because for a few seconds she didn't respond to his question until she started sputtering her excuse. "I-I thought you could use some time outside of the apartment, y-y'know, since you're always in there and.."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow as he looked at her inquisitively, because it all sounded like total bullshit. Sure, he spent quite a good chunk of his time inside the apartment, but that was on a good day. The rest of the days of the week were spent slaving in the library and his friends' dorms. And Lynn seemed to realise that her excuse was in fact total horseshit judging by the fact that she stopped her sentence midway. She let out an annoyed sigh with her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Fine.. The whole reason I wanted you to come with me was because.. because.."

Lincoln raised his eyebrow to the limit as he impatiently waited for Lynn to continue. "Because?"

"Because I needed someone to act like my boyfriend so that the fucking jocks wouldn't come flirting with me. There, happy now?" She said all of that in one fast breath that it took a few seconds for Lincoln to process the entire thing.

And when he did, well, he didn't even know he could feel like shit _and_ happy at the same time. Shit for making Lynn pissed, and happy because _that_ was the reason.

"I.. umm.." He stuttered like that for what felt like ages until Lynn fisted his shoulder. That finally snapped him out of his trance, and when he looked over at Lynn, her pissed-off face had softened a bit.

"C'mon, we're late," was all she said with a deadpan face before she tugged at his hand. He followed her, but a part of his brain was still on meltdown trying to process this new information.

As they began speed-walking to the party, Lincoln began to speak. "So uhh.. I didn't think you'd need me to protect you from jocks. I figured you'd just beat them to a pulp if they annoyed you too much."

Lynn let out a little snort. "Oh believe me Linc, I would. Actually, I _did_. And _that_ did not go down too well. Got a lot of shit for doing that," she recalled while chuckling even more. "They said it was 'inappropriate' or some bullshit like that. But the son of a bitch was starting to reach for places he _shouldn't_ have laid his hands on, and, well, I gave him the beating he deserved." She explained it with an air of pride to her voice, and rightly so if Lincoln had any say in it.

"Alright, how bad did you beat him?" Lincoln asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Hehe.. Well, let's just say that he wasn't gonna be eating solid foods any time soon, and leave it at that."

Sometimes he'd forget that behind the womanly exterior, there was pure fire and sometimes downright sadism inside his sister. But he knew that she only raised her fist in self-defence.. if taekwondo ever taught him anything at least.

"But wait, why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"There's a lot of things I haven't told you about my time here," she winked. "But I promise I'll tell you about them some day."

"Well, that's nice to know.." Lincoln sighed. "Anyway, so let me get this straight. You wanted to go to this party so that Juniper wouldn't get upset, and you need _me_ to follow you so that you don't end up beating the living shit out of some dude and get kicked out?"

"Yup, pretty much," she winked.

He shook his head. "I've got a bad feeling about this.."

"Oh c'mon Linc! Don't be such a party-pooper!" she chided him playfully as she slinged her arm around his. "This is gonna be great, trust me!"

Well.. she did have a whole lot more experience with college than he did. And besides, what was there to lose?

They didn't need to look hard to find out where the party was, because the loud music and the epilepsy-inducing strobe lights were a dead giveaway. It was absolutely packed, with students flooding the outside and the inside of the house. After a few minutes of looking, they finally found Juniper.

"Yo, Lynn! You made it!" she greeted. "And my do you look good!"

"Hehe, yep," Lynn chuckled as the two exchanged fist bumps. "You don't look half bad yourself, Junes."

"Aww, thanks Lynn."

And from behind her appeared Lincoln, whom Juniper quickly took notice of. "And I see you brought Lincoln with you. Nice!"

Juniper approached Lincoln and patted him on the back. "Welcome to the party, _Linc._ You won't regret coming here, cause lemme tell you, this party is wild!" She spread her arms wide in the air just to emphasise her point.

"Yup. I can totally see that Juniper," Lincoln laughed. It was nice to see a familiar face in the crowd of strangers. Hopefully he wouldn't have to mingle with any of _these_ people, but something told him that _that_ would be nigh impossible in a party like this.

"Alright, c'mon you two, let's go get some drinks!" Juniper said. She began tugging them through the crowd. It was a miracle they could even hear her over the obscenely loud music. And, wait-

"Whoa whoa whoa hold up," Lincoln said, earning him the odd looks of both Lynn and Juniper. "D-Drink? I'm only eighteen!"

"Pfft. Stincoln, there's a difference between _purchasing_ alcohol and _drinking_ it y'know. And besides, nobody's gonna give a shit if some 18 year-old drinks here. Hell, it's expected!" Lynn laughed as she nudged Lincoln with her elbow.

Was he going to cave under peer - or rather, big sister - pressure, or was he going to stand by his principles? Welp, the former seemed more probable...

Finally, after squeezing their way through the crowds of people, they arrived at the drinks bar. Loaded with cheap alcohol, it was a college teen's paradise! There were stacks and stacks of cans and a whole bunch of red cups to boot.

"Grab yourselves some drinks, and then we can go _mingle_ with the fishes," Juniper said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

Before he could say anything else, Lincoln was already seeing Juniper taking a whole can of beer and chugging it on the spot. Lynn seemed to follow suit, but wasn't in much of a hurry to down her whole can in one sip. As for Lincoln, he'd made a mental promise to act as the designated.. walker? Yea, he'd go with that, and make sure that there was someone to drag Lynn home if - when - she got too drunk. And because of that, he took one of the red cups and that was that. Alcohol was to be at a minimum for him tonight.

The three of them chose to hang out at the drinks bar for the time being, relishing the opportunity to chug down alcohol free of charge - save for Lincoln. Lynn and Juniper were really striking up a conversation about sports or something. He didn't really know. Heck, it was almost impossible to hear what with the ear-destroying music blasting through the house.

In the meantime, Lincoln could only sigh as he looked around him. All he could see were frat boys flirting with girls, the usual beer pong table and daredevils chugging down as much beer as possible to show off to their friends. Y'know, he'd always wondered how those bastards were able to down so much alcohol without getting alcohol poisoning. That, or their livers were already so resistant and ruined to the point of no return.

"Alright, I'm going to go see if I can 'get to know' some of these guys," Juniper said as she winked, "I'll meet you guys later after the party. You two have fun now!"

"Right, see ya later Junes," Lynn said, but not before fist-bumping her best friend.

But before Juniper left, she had one last thing to tell a certain white-haired boy. She approached him, whispering in his ear. "Yo Lincoln, make sure you keep an eye on Lynn. She has a tendency to.. umm.. how do I say this? Well, she gets wasted pretty easily is all I'm saying."

"Hehe.. I'll certainly keep an eye on that." Two years of being best buds must've been enough time for her to pick up on these things about Lynn.

"Oh, and Linc?"

"Yea Junes?"

"Try to make sure she doesn't get into any fist fights.." This time, Juniper's tone sounded a whole lot more serious.

Lincoln gulped. _So her stories were true then.._ "R-right. I'll.. I'll try my best."

"Good!" she said, patting his shoulder. "You have fun with Lynn now!"

"S-see ya Juniper!"

"Ahem.."

Lincoln turned to see Lynn with a suspicious look on her face. He didn't know if he should lie about what Juniper had told him, but something told him that he wasn't gonna have much of a chance to do that.

"Alright, spill the beans Stincoln. What did Juniper tell you?" she asked inquisitively with one hand on her hip.

No use lying now. "Just.. the usual. Y'know, make sure you don't get too drunk and make sure you don't get into any fist fights."

Lynn's presumptuous face immediately broke into giggles. "Oh, classic Juniper. Well, you should probably take her advice then."

He only had one thought in his mind; _what did I get myself into?_

Then, he felt a warmth engulfing his hand. He looked down and found Lynn's hand holding his.

"C'mon Linc, let's find someplace we can relax and enjoy our drinks," she said. Her cheeks seemed a little flushed, and judging by the slight tipsy look in her eyes, the effects of the alcohol were just barely beginning to set in.

"Sure, Lynn. Wait, how many beers have you drank?"

"About, one and a half.. something like that," she said. She was still sober enough, for now. If Juniper was right, then Lynn didn't have that much of an alcohol tolerance, so the likelihood that she was gonna get drunk was pretty high. It was just a matter of when. And he hoped to god that when she inevitably got drunk, it wouldn't come biting him in the ass.

They eventually made their way to a relatively empty part of the house. Sure, there were still people around, but it wasn't as packed as the rest of the house. They settled down, leaning their backs against the wall as they enjoyed their drinks, well, for Lynn at least.

Lincoln abhorred the taste of beer. It was so disgustingly bitter. Why would anyone even like this? After a few sips of his cup, he was still nowhere near feeling tipsy. _'Guess I just have a good alcohol tolerance. Heh.. ironic."_

"So, Lincoln…"

"Mhmm?" he hummed before taking another sip of his beer. _'Gosh this tastes awful, yet surprisingly addictive..'_

"About that girl you liked.."

 _'Oh no..'_ He didn't know what Lynn was going to ask, but he hated putting up this charade. But he had to go along with it for now.

Lynn glanced at her surroundings. "Do you see her anywhere here?"

Lincoln laughed to himself internally. _'Yup, and she's standing right beside me…'_

"Nope, don't think I see her here..," he said with a sigh, trying his best to feign disappointment. "What about you? See anyone you like here?"

"Pssh.. are you kidding me? All I see here are a buncha jocks and dudebros. Not exactly my can of beer. Get it?" Lynn giggled before taking another swig of her beer, "Gosh, Luan's jokes are starting to rub on me.."

Lincoln couldn't help but laugh along with her. Luan-styled jokes, as much as they were annoying, were a sorely missed aspect of his life that was now relegated to the occasional holiday reunions. _'Sigh.. I wish I was a kid again.'_

But his mind quickly moved on from reminiscing on 'the good old days' and went back to thinking about Lynn's answer. He wondered then.. "Then what exactly is your ' _can of beer_ '?" he asked.

Lynn didn't respond immediately. She looked like she was thinking really hard, her face scrunching up in deep thought. "I.. I don't know actually.. Maybe someone kind, someone who treats me well. Y'know, someone _decent_ and isn't an asshole. But even then it seems a little hard to find guys like that.."

She sighed as she leaned further into the wall, "Everyone in sports is always so full of themselves. Arrogant, cocky, downright obnoxious.."

"I'm sure not _all_ guys in sports are like that, right?" Lincoln said.

"Yea sure, I guess. But not here. No.. They're always cat-calling me, giving me their numbers, thinking they've swooned me just because of their good looks and wins. I sometimes hear them talking about my body behind my back, like I can't hear those assholes…"

"Lynn.. I didn't know it was that bad.."

Lynn sighed again. "Nah, don't worry about it, Linc. It ain't all doom and gloom here. Everybody else is pretty rad. It's just the asshole jocks I meet every now and then in my matches."

After that, the conversation eventually derailed into idle chat about their family, college life and what not, and by the time Lincoln was at his last sip, he felt the urge to answer nature's call.

"Lynn, I'm going to the toilet. I'll be right back," he said.

"Sure, sure. I'll just stay right here till you're back, I guess.."

Lincoln squeezed his way through the sea of people and finally made it to the bathroom, and oh god, it reeked of alcohol in there. And wait, there was another smell.. He looked down towards the floor, finding discarded cigarettes and vomit stains scattered about.

"Oh god.."

He carried on with his business as fast as he could and high-tailed it out of there. Any longer and he would've suffocated from the smell alone. He squeezed his way through the crowds again, going back to where Lynn had been, only to find a man right beside her.

He was tall, taller than Lynn was obviously, but noticeably taller than Lincoln. He wore a sports jersey, his hair fashioned in the usual jock style. Lincoln could only guess that this was one of the sports boys Lynn resented so much.

By the look on Lynn's face, he could tell she was uncomfortable. It was only thanks to her previous experience that she didn't punch the lights out of the man beside her immediately. The man was irritatingly close to Lynn.

"Hey, I noticed you were all alone. Why don't you and me go somewhere and get 'acquainted'."

"Ughh, fuck off," Lynn scoffed as she turned away from him.

The man simply laughed as he ignored Lynn. "Oh c'mon, don't be like that. I'm just trying to get to know you."

"I'm already _with_ someone, you dense asshole," Lynn scoffed. She turned her head away from the man, but he was relentless.

"Really? I don't see him around here anywhere." With Lynn refusing to look at him, he went over to the other side, this time placing his hand right on the wall besides her face. "You're our university's star athlete aren't you? I've seen you around the fields. You're pretty amazing. I guess we both have something in common," he said suavely.

But no amount of sugared words were gonna convince Lynn. "Look, I'm not interested, dumbass. Why don't you get that through your thick skull?" She glared straight into his eyes, because if he wasn't going to hear how irritated she was getting, then he was going to sure as hell see it.

By now, the lug was literally starting to breath down Lynn's neck. But what ticked Lincoln off was what he said next. "C'mon babe, don't be like this. Why don't I show you a good time upstairs, and you dump whoever it is you're with?"

Lincoln's blood was boiling. _'That son of a bitch!'_ He wasn't going to let some stuck up cunt like him talk to his sister that way. And it didn't help that everyone around them was standing idly by while this went on. Did they just see this as a normal occurrence? Why weren't they doing anything to help?

Looks like he was going to have to take matters into his own hands.

He breathed in, preparing himself. He then approached the man. This was it. _'Here goes nothing.'_

"Look asshole, she's uninterested. So why don't you back the fuck off!"

A collective gasp echoed throughout the room, with everyone turning silent. Okay.. he might've said that a little _too_ loudly. But he couldn't give a shit, as long as he had that bastard's attention.

Even Lynn seemed shocked, that is, until she saw Lincoln. Her eyes then quickly changed into a look of worry. She was clearly worried for Lincoln's safety more than hers. And now was the perfect opportunity to show his big sis that he could fight his own battles as well as she did.

The man turned around, an annoyed and angry look adorning his facial features. "What the fuck did you say?"

"I said. Back. Off." Lincoln approached the man. He puffed up his chest and tightened his fists in an attempt to look intimidating, even if it meant he'd receive a fist to his face by the lughead in front of him.

"What did you fucking say?!" The man towered over him, gritting his teeth as he took a few steps towards Lincoln. Lincoln was a dwarf compared to the towering behemoth that this man was.

Everyone around them now had their attention on the commotion that they'd gotten themselves into. But Lincoln couldn't care about any of that in the slightest. All he was concerned about was getting the asshole to backoff.

"I don't know if you're deaf. But I'll say it again. She's with me, tough guy. So why don't you get the hell outta here and stop trying to take someone else's girl." Lincoln was treading on some seriously dangerous territory now. Fuck deescalating the situation. He was doing the exact opposite. If he didn't back down now, this might turn into a fist fight. But Lincoln tried not to think about that too much.

The man, his face boiling red, looked towards Lynn behind him, but instead of bursting out into a tirade of anger, nearly broke out into a hysterical fit of laughter. "Pfft.. You can't be serious! You're with _this_ wimp? He's a runt, you deserve someone _so_ much better."

Lynn's eye was twitching. Oh boy, he knew that look. Lincoln knew how much she hated bullies, and anyone who so much as insulted her family was met with a fist. But before she could lay a smackdown, Lincoln fired back.

"Like who? You? Why don't you take a look in the mirror, asshole. You're not exactly a shining beacon of chivalry and class."

They could hear snickers among the crowd. Even Lynn couldn't stop herself from snickering at that witty burn.

"Ouch," she giggled under her breath.

Well, this move did shit all to de-escalate the situation. The man was now crunching his fists, approaching Lincoln with fury and wrath in his eyes.

"You son of a fucking bitch," he growled.

With the adrenaline coursing through his veins, Lincoln was ready to take on that brute in a one-to-one, mano a mano. It was a futile thought to begin with, since he was sure that one punch from the man would be enough to knock him out for a few days.. or maybe forever. But he had to do it. For Lynn.

"You so much as touch him, and you'll have to be sent to the hospital in a stretcher."

The man stopped in his tracks, turning around to find Lynn cracking her knuckles with a threatening smirk to her face. Lincoln silently breathed a sigh of relief. As much as he was ashamed of Lynn helping him, he still would rather suffer a hit to his pride than a hit to his skull.

"What? You telling me this scrawny shit's gonna send _me_ to the hospital?" he bellowed menacingly.

"No.. But I sure as fuck can."

Silence filled the room. Tensions were high. Every pair of eyes was on them now. The pressure was on!

"I'd take her advice, pal. My _girlfriend's_ a black belt in taekwondo. Don't think you wanna mess with someone like that," Lincoln said. He was adding salt to the wound, and he hoped this would get the bastard to stand down. "Unless.. you wanna get beaten to shit by a girl?"

After a few seconds of intense silence, the man finally said something.

"Fine. I'll fuck off," he huffed, backing away from Lynn and Lincoln. His face seemed flushed, and with everyone starting to gather around them to see the ruckus, he was beginning to cave under the pressure.

He walked away, but not before giving his shot at a vain last attempt to regain his reputation.

"And have fun with that wimp boyfriend of yours who's too much of a pussy to fight me himself. Should've known you were a whore for wusses." He spat in her general direction before disappearing in the crowd.

Once he left, the crowd around them dispersed and turned their attention back to whatever the hell they were doing prior to the verbal showdown.

Lincoln let out a very loud sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping after having to put up such a brave and intimidating front. He couldn't believe he - they - actually did that!

"Holy. Shit. Lincoln, that was fucking _amazing_!" Before he knew it, Lynn had already trapped him in a bone-crushing bear hug. "I didn't know you had it in you to do that! I mean, you really gave it to him there!"

"Heheh.. you really think so?" Lincoln laughed as hugged her back.

"I fucking _know_ so. You laid a verbal smackdown on that asshole! And you should've seen his face when you told that bastard off! He was fuming!" She squeezed him even tighter as she squealed from the left over adrenaline running through her veins. "I'm so proud of you, Linc."

She'd never said that before.. A proud smile spread across his lips. "Gee.. thanks Lynn. But I couldn't have done it without-"

He stopped mid-sentence when Lynn interjected. "Oh shut the fuck up, Lincoln. It was all you."

"But-"

She placed a finger on his lips. "Up up up! No more of that ' _you helped too_ ' bullshit. I don't wanna hear it."

Lincoln sighed. For once, Lynn was letting _him_ be on the pedestal. She was even denying her own win in this case. And he felt extremely touched by that.

"Geez, Lynn. Whatever you-"

He was stopped mid sentence when he suddenly felt a pair of lips peck his cheek. He turned to find Lynn having placed a little kiss there, her face grinning with mischievous delight once she'd pulled away.

"And that's my way of saying thank you, _boyfriend~_ " she giggled teasingly.

From such a high of pride and confidence, his mind basically fell into a state of haywire. His brain was being overwhelmed by his senses, and now he was starting to stutter like an idiot.

"W-W-Wh-Wha..."

"H-Holy shit! Hahaha!" Lynn laughed almost hysterically. "You should take a look at your face! It's as red as a fucking tomato!"

Between Lynn's alcohol-induced flush on her cheeks and his.. err.. embarrassment-induced blush, he was the clear winner in terms of colour by a long shot.

"S-Shut the hell up, Lynn!" Lincoln tried his best to cover his flaming face with his hands, but Lynn was quicker and took hold of them, and judging by that devious smile on her face, she was far from done with him.

"Now c'mon Stincoln. Let's get outta here and have some fun!"


	5. Something More

She dragged him off to god knows where. They danced, they partied, they laughed.. He'd never been so happy in his life, and he'd never seen her this happy either, well, minus the times when she won her matches. But as the night grew older, and the number of cans Lynn had chugged dry increased, things were starting to get a little _too_ wild for him.

" _Lincoln~_ "

"Lynn, don't make me drag you home."

They were at the front lawn. Lynn was hunched on the ground, puking her guts out onto the neatly trimmed grass, and Lincoln was there beside her holding her ponytail back.

She puked out another slew of vomit. "No, I wanna keep partying, _Linky~_ "

Lincoln sighed. Lynn was drunk out of her mind, and with Juniper nowhere in sight, he was left handling her. Not that he minded it. He did appoint himself as the 'designated walker' after all.

"Lynn. You..," He pulled back her ponytail as Lynn let out another stream of vomit onto the grass. ".. are drunk."

"Yeahea, I'm totally wasted, Linc," she said, slurring her words as she coughed the remaining vomit out of her mouth.

Lincoln shook his head. What a miserable display. "What would mom and dad think about this?" he muttered lowly under his breath.

"Hehe..," he heard Lynn chuckle. "That's why they aren't here, Linky.. If they were, they'd be-"

She didn't have much of a chance to finish that sentence, since the urge to purge more vomit out of her guts was attacking her full force.

_*Bleeeergh~*_

After having let out the remains of her stomach, Lynn collapsed onto the grass. She could barely even sit up straight. Lincoln knelt down by her side, his face contorting a bit as the smell of vomit and alcohol bombarded his poor nostrils. He gagged, but thankfully he didn't vomit his dinner out like Lynn did.

"Lynn, you feeling any better?" he asked as he stroked her head. It was his vain attempt at soothing her, but hey, at least he was trying.

"Never - *hiccup* - better, Linky!" Her head was swinging side to side, like she was going to collapse onto the ground, so Lincoln sat by her side and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

"This is the last time you're bringing me to any party," he chuckled.

Her face turned into a pout. "Aww c'mon Linc! Dontcha think this was - *hiccup* - fun?"

"Yea.. I guess it _has_ been fun. It really has.." From the high of talking down a jock, to dancing and partying with Lynn, it seemed like this was going to be the highlight of his college life. If only the day didn't end with him having to deal with a drunken Lynn..

"Hey.. Linc," he heard Lynn say softly beside his ear.

"What's up Lynn?"

"Thanks.. for - *hiccup* - coming to the party with me."

A small smile appeared on the edge of Lincoln's lips as he rested his hand on Lynn's shoulder, pulling her just a little bit closer to him. "Don't mention it sis."

"And Linc?"

"Yea, Lynn?"

He could feel her shifting beside him, and then he saw her looking straight up at him. "You're my favourite brother."

Lincoln felt honoured, he really did, but he couldn't stop himself from snorting a little at what Lynn said, earning him a confused look from her. "W-What? What's so - *hiccup* - funny?"

"N-Nothing, Lynn," he said, covering his mouth as he tried to stop the giggles. "It's just that.. I'm your _only_ brother."

The look on Lynn's face almost sent him into a fit of hysterical laughter. She was trying so desperately hard to understand what Lincoln meant, and she looked so adorable. But hey, he had to give her credit, she _was_ drunk after all.

"Only.. brother? Wha.. Oh!" It was like a light bulb finally turned on in her head. "I see, hehe.." she chuckled to herself. If this was the usual, sober Lynn, she would have landed a punch to Lincoln's shoulder for teasing her like that. But the alcohol did well to mellow her out.

"Then.. then you're my favourite _sibling_!" she giggled as she shot him a big, toothy, drunken grin at him. After that, she'd swung her arms around Lincoln's neck and pulled him into a hug.

That cute grin on her face was almost enough to send his heart skyrocketing into orbit. And as soon as she'd hugged him, he responded likewise and wrapped his arms around her, deepening their hug.

"You're my favourite sibling too, Lynn," he chuckled into her ear.

"R-Really?" The innocent tone to her voice convinced him that her question was actually genuine.

"Yes, really.." he chuckled.

Lincoln swore that he could almost feel Lynn purring as she nestled deeper into the hug. A drunken Lynn was surprisingly a lot more innocent and cutesy than he'd imagined - and whole lot more handsy. He hadn't seen this innocent side of Lynn since.. since.. Shit, maybe since forever.

 _'Y'know.. I wouldn't mind if Lynn was drunk more often if it meant she'd be sweet like this to me..'_ he thought to himself.

After a few minutes of embracing each other in a comfortable silence, Lincoln finally decided that it was time to head back to their apartment, much to his reluctance.

"Alright, c'mon Lynn. Time to go," he said as he pulled away from the hug. But it seemed like he was gonna have to pry himself away since Lynn was still holding onto him a little too tightly.

"Already? But _Liiinc_..," she groaned like a sulking toddler.

"No buts Lynn. We _really_ need to get going," he chided. Gosh, he was starting to sound a whole lot like the older sibling now.

He heaved her up so that she could stand on her two legs. That wasn't such a bright idea really, since Lynn was too wasted to even balance herself properly. It was only through his fast reflexes was he able to catch her before she fell down onto the ground. He had one hand on her back, with another grasping her hand to hoist her up. If it wasn't for Lynn's drunken state, someone might've thought they were doing the tango.

He pulled Lynn up, which only caused her to lean into him. He had to hold her close so that she wouldn't fall backwards. Lincoln felt like he was handling one of those tubular balloons at the car dealers..

"Ughh.. Linc..," Lynn groaned. "All this moving around is making my head spin."

She gagged and with it came the outflow of vomit from her mouth. Thankfully, she missed Lincoln by a few inches.

"Aww gross, Lynn!"

"S-Sorry Linc. My head still kinda hurts right now," she said weakly before going back into Lincoln's arms, holding her head in her hands in a vain attempt to get rid of the mind-numbing headache. "Ughh…"

He sighed, gently stroking Lynn's head to comfort her. "No, don't be sorry. I'm pushing you too hard."

There had to be a way for him to get her home.. And that was when a metaphorical lightbulb lit up in his head. _'Aha!'_

He gently let go of Lynn and squatted in front of her with his back facing her. "Lynn, get on my back."

"Linky?" she responded with confusion.

He turned his head to look at her and gave her a reassuring smile, patting his back as he did. "C'mon Lynn. I'm gonna give you a piggy-back ride home."

Lynn said nothing, tilting her head in confusion. But she did as she was told, and as soon as she got onto his back, Lincoln clasped his arms around her legs.

"Now hold onto my neck."

After she'd wrapped her arms securely around his neck, he got up. She was surprisingly light, something he wasn't expecting considering how much muscle Lynn was packing under that petite build of her. After that, they were off.

As he carried Lynn on his back, he could feel her breaths tickling the skin of his neck, accompanied by the smell of alcohol. But that didn't bother him much. He'd smelled things _way_ worse from Lana. He even felt a little comforted by it even, maybe due to her close proximity.

It was peaceful, having Lynn piggy-back riding him, coupled with the silence of the campus. Sure, they could still hear the blaring music of the frat house in the far distance, but after a few minutes of walking, it was replaced with a peaceful silence and the sound of the crickets. The moon was shining bright in the sky and for once he could see some semblance of the stars in the night.

This all reminded him of when they were children, when they'd play together in the park till the sun went down, chasing each other around for hours on end and built castles in the playground sandbox. He remembered when she'd show him everything and explained, with her toddler logic, about the world around them. She even managed to convince him that the wind was caused by sneezing trees. Oh.. those were the times.

And after a fun day of playing together, it always ended pretty much the same way; with a tired Lincoln being piggy-backed home by his big sis. Sometimes, he'd fall asleep as Lynn carried him home, and when he woke up, he was already in bed. Lincoln sighed as he reminisced. Those were the good days. Those were _their_ days.

And here he was now, carrying Lynn just like she did for him all those years ago. It was almost.. poetic. Well, minus the fact that Lincoln was carrying a wasted Lynn from a night of partying. But it was sweet nonetheless.

"Linc..coln?" Her voice cut through the silence and was pretty soft, even with her lips being mere inches away from his ear.

He hummed as he turned to try to look at her with his peripheral vision. "Yea Lynn?"

"Lincoooln.."

"Uhh.. Lynn?"

"Linkyyyy.."

"Lynn, what's wrong?"

She stayed silent for a bit after that. He would've been worried if not for the fact that he could feel her breathing on his neck, telling him that she was still fine. Seconds of silence passed as he concentrated on keeping Lynn secure on his back, until she spoke again.

"Lincoln.. I have to.. tell you something.."

He didn't know what she needed to so desperately tell him in her drunken state, but he was all ears - not that he had much of an option.

"I'm all ears Lynn," he said.

He could hear Lynn's breathing hitch up for a moment, before finally hearing the one thing she'd been aching to tell him;

"Lincoln.. I love you.."

He swore his heart skipped a beat for a moment. Everything around him seemed to crawl to a standstill. His ears heard nothing else other than the sound of her voice, playing over and over again in his head.

_'Did she just.. confess to me?'_

She did, didn't she? What else could those three special words possibly mean? But that thought quickly crumbled, along with his newfound feelings of hope and joy, when he realised the state she was in. She was drunk.. and she probably meant it in a sibling way.. _'Get your head out of the gutter, dumbass! Of course she meant it in a sibling way!'_ He cursed himself for even thinking otherwise.

With a sigh, he replied back, although a little weakly and with his voice tinged with the subtlest hint of sadness, "I love you too, Lynn."

Their apartment complex wasn't too far now. Once they were in, he just needed to get into the elevator, and then it would be an easy walk to the door. As he got into the elevator, he realised he didn't have any vacant hands to press the button. He tried to take his hands off of Lynn, but decided against it, fearful of accidentally causing her to fall off his back.

And so, he decided to ask the one person who didn't have her hands occupied for help. "Hey Lynn, mind pressing number five for me?"

Lynn, even in her semi passed-out state, managed to hit the button surprisingly quickly.

"Thanks."

"No - *hiccup* - problemo Linky.."

After that, they were on their floor. This would be the last mile; the walk to their apartment. His legs were starting to feel like mush right about then and he would like nothing more than to collapse on his bed once he was home.

Once he reached the door, he expertly maneuvered his hands, using one hand to hold Lynn's entire weight on his body while another went to fish for his keys in his pocket. Once he'd found them, he unlocked the door.

"Ah! Home sweet home!" he said as he let out a big sigh of relief. But before he could relax, he needed to take care of Lynn first.

He waddled his way to Lynn's room, opening the door with his foot. He gently set her on the bed, and it felt like he'd just taken off a big weight off of his back, literally.

"Alright, _now_ I can relax," he chuckled as he prepared to leave the room. "Welp, I'm off to bed now, Lynn. If you need any help with your hangover, just call me."

But before he could leave though, Lincoln was stopped in his tracks when he felt a hand tugging on the sleeve of his hoodie. He turned around to find Lynn propped up in her bed, holding tightly onto him, her eyes staring directly back at him. There was an expectant look in them, and also the subtlest hint of anxiousness.

"W-Wait..," she squeaked softly before continuing "Lincoln.. I.. I need to talk to you.. p-please.."

He was feeling tired right about then, but something about the look on Lynn's face compelled him to hear what she had to say. He backed away from the door and sat right beside her on the edge of her bed, fighting to stifle a yawn that was threatening to break through his lips.

He looked on curiously and expectantly at Lynn, wondering what she so desperately wanted to tell him.

"What is it Lynn?"

He could see her lips trembling, her tongue holding still, as if she was hesitant to say it.

"Lincoln.." she said softly. "I.. I love you.."

She said it again. Those three magic words. He so desperately wanted to believe that it was what it looked like, that she was confessing right there and then, straight to his face. But his brain, clinging onto the last scraps of his morality and allegiance to law and religion, hounded at his heart, telling him - no - screaming at him that this was just all just a misunderstanding. That this was all because of the accursed liquor.

He sighed, relenting to the conclusions of his brain. He'd known since long ago that his heart could never be trusted.. "Lynn, you've already told me that. And I love you too, just like I said.."

"N-No!" She'd raised her voice, which startled Lincoln for a moment. Lynn shrank a little once she'd realised how loud she was, tripping over her words when she spoke again. "I-I mean.. N-No… I just.."

She was still tipsy, and her head was swaying side to side like she was going to fall down onto her bed. Lincoln looked on with worry as she started holding her head in her hands, squeezing her fingers into her temples.

"Whoa whoa.. Lynn. Take it easy."

She looked like she was on the verge of collapsing, but she did the exact opposite.

Instead, she gripped onto the hem of Lincoln's hoodie, practically yanking him towards her. She pulled him so close in fact that their faces were now inches apart. He could feel her heavy breaths, laden with the smell of alcohol, tickling his lips, sending waves all throughout his body. They were so close.. _too_ close. His heart was beating faster by the moment at the close proximity..

And after that, his heart stopped, and he meant that almost literally. He didn't know when it happened, or _how_ it happened. All he knew was that he was experiencing a sensation that he could never have imagined in his wildest dreams; the touch of Lynn's lips against his. He could feel the softness of her lips, the sweet taste of her lip gloss.. the love pouring out of his own heart. It all felt so surreal. Like.. like he'd just been given the missing piece of a puzzle, if that puzzle was his life. Lynn's _love_ was the missing piece in his life. And for once in a long time, he felt _complete_.

His eyes, resisting to close themselves, watched on in mind-crashing awe as Lynn tenderly kissed his lips. Her eyes, closed, were scrunched tight, like she was trying to focus all of her mental power and energy into this one kiss. He melted into her, his body easing up naturally as he leaned deeper into her lips.

Their lips remained tenderly locked together for a few seconds as Lynn gripped the hem of Lincoln's hoodie, too stubborn to let go. As they separated reluctantly from each other's lips, Lynn whispered into his ear,

"I _love_ you.. Lincoln.."

Lynn promptly fell onto her bed after that and fell into unconsciousness even quicker than that. Before long, she was snoring like a hog, out cold from both exhaustion and drunkenness, which left Lincoln sitting there, stunned.

He didn't move for a few seconds. He just sat there, staring into nothingness as his scrambled brain tried to process the entire thing.

_'D-Did that just happen?'_

No, it couldn't be real, right? This all had to be a dream, right?! There was no way he'd just kissed his older sister.. no, the love of his life.

He pinched himself for good measure, even slapping his face as hard as he could to snap him out of this dream. But he felt it, felt the sting of the pinch and the soreness of the slap. This was real.. this was all real..

He slowly lifted up his jittering fingers to his face to trace the contours of his lips. He almost had to convince himself that Lynn's lips had just made contact with the pair of lips he was touching..

Never in his life would he have expected something like this happening.. It felt so wrong yet.. so _right._ His brain and heart were at war with each other. His brain so desperately tried to convince him that this was wrong, that two siblings should never fall in love. He'd tried to convince himself for years that this was impossible, that Lynn would never love him the way he loved her.. But his heart told him otherwise. He'd felt this love for so long, and for so long it was left unrequited. And for once in his life, his heart may have been right. He was at a crossroads..

But he decided to take his thoughts elsewhere, and got up from Lynn's bed, but not before taking one last glance at Lynn. She looked so peaceful, so content, and he couldn't stop his lips from forming into a smile.

"I love you too.." he whispered, bringing his face closer to her cheeks before planting a sweet kiss there.

He turned off the lights and made his way to his room, collapsing onto his bed as he stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, and the exhaustion he felt before this was all but gone. His mind was too wracked up thinking about just now.. Thinking about the morality of what he'd just done. That wasn't some familial kiss between siblings.. that was a full on makeout session with his big sister. He blushed just at the memory of it.

But his brain finally arrived at another terrifying thought other than morality and legality; what if this wasn't how Lynn really felt? What if this was all because of the alcohol? He was at cloud nine, but after that thought surfaced, he was back at ground zero.

But there was a shred of hope in all the gloom he was feeling. It wouldn't make sense for him to chalk all of it up to a drunken act. No.. that wouldn't explain her weird behaviour these past few days. The movie night, the whole talk about partners, the party, the kiss on the cheek.. It was all so obvious - she'd been sending him signals all this time!

But the thought of him interpreting this entire situation wrongly still ate away at him. He couldn't shake it off, no matter what thought he conjured up to counter it. His brain was going through a roller coaster of emotions, and so were his thoughts. All he could do was wait till the morning came, and then.. then he'd figure it out.

But now, without a doubt, he was sure of his feelings. He loved her too, and nothing in the world would ever convince him otherwise..


	6. Gone With the Wind

The morning sun was just starting to peek through the horizon, the orange hue seeping in through his window. He glanced at the clock by the side of his bed. 6.00 a.m., it read. He hadn't slept a wink last night. And it was all because of those few words he'd heard from the lips he'd so tenderly kissed last night.

_"I love you.. Lincoln."_

He'd stayed up all night wondering if she really meant it; if she really loved him more than as a brother.. She kissed him, yet his brain had been absolutely adamant to ignore that fact, instead choosing to chalk it all up to her drunkenness. And he wondered if his brain was right..

But what also kept him awake was the whole notion of asking Lynn that very question. He didn't know how she would react, or if she remembered any of last night's events at all. He'd even struggled with how _he_ himself felt about this whole situation. He was ecstatic that she'd kissed him, but those same thoughts would send him down a rabbit hole about Lynn's true feelings.

Lincoln groaned as he rubbed his weary head. He could've sat there in his bed and entertained these thoughts and questions for hours and hours - and he had done that for the entire night - but even then he would still never reach the truth.

But as if last night's problems weren't enough, Lincoln had another major issue to resolve; his assignment.

The due date was this afternoon, 12.00 p.m. Looking at the clock by his bed, he had six hours.. six hours to finish everything.

"I'm gonna need a fuckton of coffee for this," he grumbled.

He went out of his room and dragged himself to the kitchen. Everything was silent in the apartment. And that could only mean one thing; Lynn must've still been asleep.

He lazily made some coffee as he leaned his weary head against the over top cabinet, even catching a few seconds of sleep as he waited for his coffee to be done. After that, he made his way to his room with a kettle and cup in hand, but stopped right as he passed Lynn's door.

Her door was still closed, so she must've still been asleep. He so desperately wanted to see her, to see how she was holding up with the terrible hangover she must've been having right about then, or maybe.. to talk to her about last night. He approached her door, his hand hovering over the door handle.

But he knew better than to do that. She needed the sleep, especially considering the terrible hangover she must've been having right about then. And a part of him was afraid. Afraid to ask her the burning question in his heart.

'Do you really love me as more than a sibling?'

Lincoln could only sigh as he passed by her door and went into his room. He'd check up on her after this, that was his promise to himself.

He sat at his desk, and promptly pulled out his laptop. This was going to be hell, but at least it would help take his mind off of last night..

Time passed by without him even realising it. Hours felt like minutes, and minutes felt like seconds, and his fingers were feeling like jelly as he typed away at rapid speed. This was his sloppiest work yet, and he could only hope that it wouldn't affect his overall GPA too badly. His cup of coffee quickly turned into two, then three, then four. He was running on caffeine, and the crash after this would probably be just as bad as the hangover Lynn was having. Wait..

_'Lynn..'_

That one thought of her threatened to derail his momentum and all his progress along with it. But he succumbed to it. He got off of his seat and made his way to Lynn's room. It was somewhere around 10.00 'o' clock, so she had to be awake by now.

Once he'd gotten to her room, he noticed that her door was open. He didn't see her in the living room nor in the bathroom, so she must still be in there. When he opened her door a little wider to take a peek, he didn't see her on her bed. In fact, he couldn't find her anywhere in the room.

"Hmm..," he hummed to himself, "She must've left while I was busy working.."

He suspected that Lynn was probably out on a morning jog through the campus. He wouldn't be surprised if it was her way of getting rid of her hangover. But just in case, he ringed her up.

_Beep, beep, beep.._

No answer. He tried again. The same tune played in his ears.. Either her phone was dead, or she must've misplaced it somewhere. He called her one more time just to be sure. But yet again, no answer.

Having no luck with Lynn, he tried to give Juniper a call instead. She'd probably know where Lynn was. Those two were inseparable sometimes, almost like they were sisters.

He called her up, but received no answer. He tried to call her again, and then another time after that, yet no the result was the same; no response.

"Huh, everyone's just busy I guess.." he sighed. Wait-

_Busy.._

"Oh shit!"

He was so engrossed in finding out where Lynn went that he didn't notice how much time had passed. It was only when he looked at the clock did he realize how much time he'd wasted.

"Ah fuck.." he cursed to himself before sighing,"Guess I'll just call her later. She'll be back sooner or later."

He hurried back to his desk and went to work immediately. He only managed to send his assignment by a hair from the deadline - 2 seconds to be exact. Some daredevil he was, living on the edge like that.

Now that he was done with work, his thoughts immediately went back to Lynn. He got out of his room as he rubbed the soreness out of his back. He desperately hoped to see Lynn laying there on the couch, watching some sports match, but all he was met with was nothing. She still wasn't back yet.

He could only shrug as he went to prepare an afternoon snack; his signature peanut butter and sauerkraut sandwich. He brought his sandwich to the couch and started to sift through the channels aimlessly as he enjoyed his snack. But even as he savoured the taste of his sandwich, something didn't sit right with him. There was this uncomfortable feeling deep inside his gut. And soon, he realised what it was.

He was worried.

Worried about the one person he hadn't seen all day. He knew that he shouldn't be this worried about Lynn. Shewas the big sister, and she'd been here a whole lot longer than he was, been through and seen through a whole lot more than he had in his six months here. And she could take on men twice her size without breaking a sweat. There was no logical reason to worry.

Yet, for some reason, he did.

And he continued to worry until the afternoon eventually turned into evening, when his calls continued to go unanswered. He'd lost track of how many times he'd tried to call her, and each attempt ended up the same.

He was now slumped on the couch, wracked out of his mind. This wasn't even about yesterday's 'incident' anymore. He was genuinely worried about her safety. Back when she'd been busy for the last 2 weeks, they'd always called each other regularly. _Everyday_. Without fail. And the fact that she hadn't been answering the tens of missed calls was sounding alarms in his head.

The sky was slowly beginning to turn orange, and waiting in the apartment for her to come back was driving him nuts. If he was going to try to find Lynn, he was going to have to search the campus - each and every corner of it. He haphazardly wore his orange hoodie and locked the door in a hurry. He speed walked out of the complex and made his way to the main campus grounds.

He searched the gymnasium, the obvious choice to start. But she wasn't there. Even a short talk with the gym keepers proved fruitless since they hadn't seen Lynn there either. Alright, the gym was off the list. The next place he went to was the field. If anything, she could've been training for next week's match there.

"Here's hoping.."

When he arrived there, he found it all but empty, save for a few people walking here and about. He didn't see Lynn anywhere nor any of the university athletes. He searched all over the field, even passing through the locker rooms just to hear any semblance of noise. Yet, nothing.

His paranoia was growing by the minute. His last resort was the library. He'd rarely see Lynn hanging around there, unless of course she _really_ needed to study for an exam. But it was worth a shot.

He made a sprint there, earning him the odd looks of bystanders. But he didn't care. He needed to find Lynn. He made it to the entrance, huffing and puffing for air. He searched the library, searched every nook and crevice, every table, and yet.. nothing. He even tried calling out her name, only to be hushed down by the librarian.

He dragged his feet out of the library and found a bench to rest on. Sitting on that bench with the sky slowly turning into darkness, he felt so hopeless. His initial worry had turned into a full-on breakdown. He was scared for Lynn, worried sick about her, and through it all, he never realised the few tears starting to make their way down his cheek. Damned if anyone saw him like this. He couldn't give less of a shit, and he _felt_ like shit too.

He sat there, staring at the night sky, watching as the stars twinkled, and as he did, he just couldn't shake off the feeling that this all had something to do with last night.

His hypothesis wasn't exactly baseless. He'd realised that all of his calls were ending far too soon, as if Lynn was deliberately refusing them as soon as she could. Everytime his mind tried to reason why she would do something like that, why she would disappear like that without telling him a single word, he came to the same conclusion; she was avoiding him.

And there was only one reason for that; last night.

He wasn't a genius, but he wasn't exactly stupid either. Growing up with ten sisters had made him a master in deciphering moods and behaviours. Whenever one of them would start acting off, he almost always guessed what was bothering them. Lori was being bitchy again? Most definitely Bobby. Luna was playing melancholic tunes? Definitely something to do with Sam. He was good at figuring out what was bothering her sisters whenever they were acting weirdly. 'Brother's intuition' he'd called it.

And that was the same for Lynn too. He could read her almost like an open book. It helped that she was always so expressive and open about her feelings sometimes, especially when it came to losses and wins. But lately.. he was having a hard fucking time trying to decipher her.

For the life of him he couldn't tell what she was feeling. He didn't know what she was thinking when she'd cuddled with him on the couch last Friday, when she'd pulled him to the side and given him that pep talk.. And last night.. well, he _thought_ last night's kiss was the final evidence he needed to get his answer. But his brain convinced him otherwise, as it usually did on the subject of Lynn.

His heart on the other hand, it knew. And it had known for so long. Lynn _loved_ him. Those words last night, they weren't ones born out of the influence of liquor.. they were her true feelings.

' _I love you.. Lincoln.'_

And maybe that was why..

With the soft moonlight breaking through the leaves on the trees, gently showering his face and his tears, he'd finally reached his epiphany; Lynn was avoiding him because she loved him. It was so clear now. She was scared.. just like him. She was scared about the consequences of such a forbidden love. One forbidden not just by law, but by religion too. He knew all too well what that paralyzing fear felt like, since it had haunted him for much of his teenage life.

But another realization came from that fact. The realization that Lynn was scared of _him._ Scared of what he'd think about something like this. Scared about the absolute disgust he would feel for her for even thinking about something so wrong. And scared that.. that he'd hate her forever.

"No.." Lincoln shivered as the thoughts flooded his mind like a massive tidal wave. Droplets of tears wetted his cheeks as the realisation kicked in. "No.. no no no.."

She must've been absolutely terrified. And now she'd run off to god knows where. He could only imagine what she was feeling at that moment. And now, he was absolutely worried sick about Lynn. It hurt his very soul to even think that she was feeling like this.

In his fit of anxiety and worry, he got up from the bench and walked circles around it, trying to crack his head to find some way, _any_ way, of contacting Lynn. He was hyperventilating. The whole subject of love had made him even more worried than he was previously.

"C'mon, think! Think! Think!" he said as he smacked his head in frustration.

"Think for fucks sake! You're the man with the plan!"

He thought and thought until an idea came down upon him, almost like a divine miracle to help lift him out of this catastrophe.

"Juniper! I'm such a dumbass!"

He tried calling her just now, but it had been hours since then. This was his last hope of finding out where Lynn had gone. And he desperately hoped to god that Juniper would pick up this time.

He quickly took his phone out of his pocket, dialing Juniper's number with his jittery fingers. As he placed the phone to his ears, he could feel his heartbeat up to his neck. The seconds he waited for his call to be picked up felt like eons to him.

"Hello?"

"Juniper! It's me, Lincoln!"

"Oh! H-Hey Lincoln.."

"Do you know where Lynn is? I've been searching everywhere for her!"

"L-Lynn? Y-Yea, she's right here at my dorm. We're uhh.. working on a biology assignment. She's pretty worked up, so she might have to bunk at my place so that we can finish it up."

He breathed a huge sigh of relief. At least he knew that Lynn was safe. But something seemed off in Juniper's voice. She was stuttering, something he had never observed from her considering her suave and charismatic attitude. But he had to put that suspicious thought aside for now.

"Can I talk to her? She hasn't been picking up my phone calls."

"Uhh.. She's.. She's in the shower right now, Lincoln. Don't think she can talk to you right now."

He immediately knew something was up. He just didn't know what.

"Right, umm.. can you tell her to call me after she's done showering? I've got something important to tell her."

"S-Sure thing Lincoln!" The voice on the other side of the phone sounded extremely nervous and hesitant, and obviously so.

"And June?"

"Yea, Lincoln?"

He breathed in, trying to calm his racing heart. "Tell Lynn that I love her. No matter what."

He was met with silence on the other end.

"Juniper?"

"Y-Yea.. I'll tell her that. See ya later Linc." As soon as she'd said that, the call had ended.

Lincoln sank back into the bench after having walked in circles for the entire duration of the call. He stared back up at the stars again, and this time with a whole new set of emotions and questions.

It didn't take a genius to realise how suspicious Juniper had sounded over the phone. The way she stuttered, how she avoided the topic of letting him talk to Lynn - it was so obvious. And it was proving his hypothesis right.

Now, he'd watched enough romantic dramas at home with Leni and Lori to at least begin theorizing what was happening. This was clearly a case of a girl running away to find comfort in her best friend. And he had a feeling that Lynn had gone to her one and only best friend for the same reason.

There was only one logical explanation for why Juniper had acted so apprehensively; Lynn must have told Juniper about what had happened the night before. He couldn't deny that the whole idea sent shivers down his spine. His worst fear was for someone to find out about the whole incident, more so his feelings for her. But if his suspicions were right, and that Lynn had told her about last night.. then there was nothing he could really do. He had to trust Juniper, and if Lynn could trust her, then he would too.

He sighed for what felt like the millionth time now. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? He didn't know what to think. All those theories running around in his mind were driving him batshit insane. He didn't even know what time it was. Heck, he didn't even eat dinner yet.

After what felt like an hour sitting on that bench under the night sky, Lincoln got up and dragged his feet back to his apartment. He would have to rustle up something once he was home just to silence his growling stomach.

Once he made his way home, he took one of Lynn's energy bars from the kitchen counter and collapsed onto the couch. He absent-mindedly turned on the TV, browsing through the channels with no thought at all. His face was lifeless. He _felt_ lifeless, due in part to the stress he endured in a single day along with the caffeine crash he was feeling. This whole day was almost as stressful as an entire semester's finals. But finals would never come close to giving him the fear and worry that he was feeling for Lynn at that moment.

But even with that fear and worry in his heart, he knew she'd call. She had to.. Juniper would have told her to. And Juniper would have relayed his message to her, that he still loved her.. She had to..

And so he waited, fighting the exhaustion that was beginning to overwhelm him with every ounce of willpower he had left within him. He waited and waited, resisting the urge to shut his eyes and let himself go gentle into that good night. He wouldn't let himself rest until he had that call from her. He felt the urge to call her himself, but he knew it was futile, so he decided she'd let her call him whenever she was ready, and he had a feeling she would call soon. And so he waited, and waited. And waited. And waited..

As the seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours, his heavy eyelids were slowly weakening, their strong fortitude and resistance to sleep and exhaustion eventually eroding away with each minute that passed. And soon.. after fighting for so long and so hard, he'd fallen. The darkness had reclaimed him once again.

Lincoln Loud slept restlessly on the couch that night. He'd tried his best to stay awake, and God knows he really did. But that night, he did not receive a call from Lynn...


	7. Solace in A Friend

_6.00 a.m. Sunday Morning_ **.**

"What have I done.."

It had been hours since she'd woken up, her terrible hangover pounding her head constantly with agonizing headaches. But none of that was enough to drown out her thoughts.. and the guilt of last night.

She couldn't forget, even if she wanted to. Her brain, even with the hangover, wouldn't let her.

She remembered it so clearly. She'd pulled Lincoln to her bed. She'd yanked him towards her, and before she knew it, she'd slammed her lips against his in a drunken haze. The tears only streamed down her cheeks harder when her brain decided to replay this scene over and over and over again.

"Lynn, you fucking idiot.." she cursed to herself, her voice seething with a mixture of rage and guilt.

She'd kissed her brother. Her one and only brother..

It had been a kiss born out of the deepest darkest desires in her heart. She'd tried so hard to keep it inside for so long and hide it from the rest of the world. She knew her love for Lincoln was forbidden not just by religion, but by law. But no matter what she did, she couldn't stop it. She couldn't stop loving him, and now, he knew..

He was never supposed to know.

He was never supposed to know that she loved Lincoln more than as a brother. She'd loved him so much that it nearly destroyed her when she had to leave him for college. She didn't show it back then, nor did she tell him about it, but the first nights when she'd settled into her dorm, she'd cried herself to sleep.

She didn't know when she started feeling this way towards him. All she knew was that she felt happy whenever he was by her side. She felt happy just playing with him, hanging out together. That was why she'd pestered him to train and play with her so much.. She just wanted his company.

Back then, she just thought those feelings were random butterflies in her stomach. But as time went on, and as the both of them matured, she realised what it was; romantic love.

And she was terrified of it.

Terrified of what her sisters would think of her, terrified of what their parents would think of her and.. terrified of what _he_ would think of her.

The feelings only grew worse when Lincoln broke up with Ronnie Anne. She remembered that day so vividly. He was twelve at the time, and she found him crying his heart out in his room. She didn't know what compelled her, but she went in and comforted him, letting him cry into her shoulder, and found out that the two had broken up due to the difficulties of maintaining a long-distance relationship.

She remembered the very one thing she kept whispering into his ear to make him calm down;

"I love you."

She didn't know how much she'd meant it back then. But from that point on, she knew. She knew with all her heart that she _loved_ him.

It didn't help that he'd always been so kind to her, helping her with everything, being there for almost every game of hers. That only made her fall in love with him even harder. But she knew she couldn't do anything - no - she _wouldn't_ do anything to pursue her love for him. She didn't want to ruin his life that way. But this entire weekend had accomplished the exact opposite.

She sank deeper into her bed. She was absolutely terrified to step out of her room, to open her door and to see _him._ She was terrified to look him in the eyes, knowing that she'd done something so horrible to the one person she'd loved the most in her life.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the sound of a door creaking open. She then heard footsteps outside her door, along with the sound of the coffee maker coming to life.

He was awake.

She crawled deeper into her bed. She desperately hoped that he wouldn't come into her room, and see the horrible monster that she was. She hid under her blanket for what felt like hours. When she heard nothing else, she eased up a little. But that was short-lived when she heard the footsteps again, and this time they were growing louder.

Her heart nearly sprung out of her chest when she noticed the silhouette of a pair of feet through the gaps of her door. He was right outside!

She crawled back into her covers, covering her head with her pillows. "Go away, please.." she whispered softly to herself, her quiet sobs being muffled by the pillow over her head.

She waited and waited, until she heard those footsteps again. The silhouette of his feet was gone. He'd gone away..

She then heard the sound of the door closing again. He was back in his room. She didn't know what to feel about that. A small part of her was hoping that he'd come in. Maybe to talk to her, or maybe to comfort her. But that didn't happen.

Her paranoia quickly seized her thoughts, and soon she'd come to the conclusion that he was avoiding her. He was too ashamed to look his horrible sister in the eye, was what her mind told her.

An image of him appeared in her thoughts. "You're fucking disgusting, Lynn," he said, disgust adorning his face and resentment seething from his tongue.

Lynn quickly tried to pull her mind out of those dark thoughts.

She slapped herself. "Get a hold of yourself Lynn! Lincoln would never say that to you.."

R-right?

He would never think she was horrible? R-right?

She immediately got off from her bed and paced anxiously around her room. She so desperately wanted to get out. To get out of the room and to get out from the apartment. Holding herself up in there was making her brain think those horrible things about him. She needed to get out.

And that was what she was going to do. She grabbed her bed, grabbed her bag, and put on her signature jacket. Before she went out of her room, she leaned her ear against the door just to make sure Lincoln wasn't outside.

Silence. The coast was clear.

She slowly opened the door and took a quick look of her surroundings. He wasn't there. Good.

She tiptoed her way to the front door, leaving the door to her own room wide open. After she was on the other side of the front door, she tried her best to silently lock it. The jingle of the keys was louder than she'd expected, but thankfully, Lincoln didn't seem to be coming out of his room.

After she was out, she made her way to the campus. She walked aimlessly, letting the rays of the rising sun and the gentle breeze soothe her troubled heart. But it wasn't enough. Her mind was a battleground, and there was no way she could make peace with herself.

Not when she knew that this was all her fault.

This was all her fault from the start. She never really told him the truth for why she'd been absent from the apartment for the past 2 weeks. Sure, it was because of the assignments. But it was also because of _him._

The funny thing about love was that it could come out of nowhere. And that was the same for Lynn's feelings for Lincoln. She'd inevitably grown a lot closer with him once they moved into their shared apartment. But she was getting a good grip on controlling her feelings, until.. until she couldn't. One day, those feelings resurfaced and intensified.

And before she knew it, she was blushing just looking at his bare chest, thinking about kissing him, thinking about _sleeping_ with him and all the other things a sister shouldn't be thinking about her brother. So she did the only thing she thought would work; tire those feelings out of her head through her usual getaway of sports and the occasional assignments.

And it did work, until last Friday. And now.. here she was, taking a stroll through campus aimlessly.

She didn't know what had gotten into her. But ever since that Friday night, when she'd 'cuddled' with Lincoln on the couch, and he seemed to respond positively, she became more open to him, even sending some obvious signals to him.

But her newfound confidence in her love for him came crashing down when he told her he already had his eyes on someone at campus. Whoever that girl was.. she was going to be one lucky son of a bitch.

Lynn on the other hand was heartbroken, but the same couldn't be said for her will. Instead, she became even more daring. Daring enough to try to distract Lincoln from that crush of his.

And that daringness culminated into the party. It was never about Juniper, heck, Juniper had even called to tell her it was fine if she didn't wanna go. No… it was an excuse to have fun _with_ Lincoln. To do stupid shit all in the name of good fun at a frat party. And look where that got her.

"What was I thinking?"

She'd broken her promise to herself all in one weekend. And now, her relationship with Lincoln was in jeopardy.

As she entertained the raging thoughts in her mind, she walked several laps around the campus without her even noticing. An hour or two passed by, and the only thing that had pulled her out of her thoughts was a buzzing sensation in her pocket.

_Bzzt~_

Her face went pale. She didn't dare to see who it was. But curiosity got the better of her, and soon enough she'd taken the phone out of her pocket just to take a peek at who it was calling her.

~ _My Lame-O ~_

Her heart stopped for a split second. She didn't have the heart to talk to him at the moment. In fact, she was terrified of talking to him entirely. She'd talk to him when she was ready.. Yeah.. that sounded good. But a part of her wondered if she'd ever be ready.

With jittery fingers, she swiped the red phone icon on her screen. She breathed a sigh of relief as she placed her phone back into her pocket. But it didn't last long, since her phone vibrated again less than a second after that.

"I-Is that..?"

She took her phone out of her pocket again and her suspicions were confirmed. It was Lincoln. It didn't take long for the panic to set in. Her mind was going haywire and she didn't know what to do. She paced in circles, and in her moment of dread, she chose to take the ultimate decision to not answer the call.

And she did the same when he called again. And again. And again. He was absolutely relentless.

By this point, Lynn's panicking had geared into overdrive. Her mind was incapacitated by the overwhelming anxiety. A small part of her wanted to answer him, to hear his calming voice again, yet no matter how many times her finger had hovered over that green button, her brain commanded her; "press the red button!"

And after the fourth time of hanging up on him, the calls stopped coming, and in her fit of anxiety, she'd blocked his number. For a moment, she felt relief, until the feeling of guilt and disappointment started to set in.

She found a bench by the sidewalk and sat on it, throwing her head into her hands as she let out a frustrated groan.

"Why did I do that?"

She was such an idiot. What if he was calling to check up on her, just to see if she was okay? And now she probably just made Lincoln mad by refusing his calls so many times. She was turning a bad situation worse.

"What am I fucking doing?" she sighed hopelessly.

She felt like crawling into a hole. But sadly, she'd already done that to herself with all the mistakes she'd made so far. She felt so hopelessly lost. She needed to find advice, someone she could talk to - other than Lincoln - about this whole affair. And she knew who it was.

"Juniper.."

She didn't like the idea of opening up to her best friend about something like this. But it was that or face Lincoln, and Lynn's trademark stubbornness would make sure that _that_ wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Soon enough, she'd phoned up Juniper, telling her that she needed some 'advice'. Juniper was always ready to accommodate her best friend, inviting Lynn to her dorm to talk, but Lynn could only wonder if this helpful attitude would remain once Juniper found out the truth. If Lynn ever decided to tell her the truth, that is.

Before she knew it, Lynn was walking down the hallway to Juniper's dorm room with Juniper by her side. Once they were in her dorm, Lynn plopped onto a small chair and let out a heavy sigh. She could see Juniper eyeing her, like she was trying to read her mind.

"Alright, Lynn. What's wrong? I can tell that this is something that's _really_ bothering you."

Lynn sat in silence, choosing instead to stare at the ground with a solemn face, avoiding eye contact with Juniper.

Juniper sighed, taking a seat besides Lynn. "Lynn, I've known you for two years. Hell, we used to be roommates. And I know how you look like when something's _really_ bothering you. So please, tell me what's wrong."

Lynn let out a heavy sigh as she slowly lifted her head up to look at Juniper. "It's about.. boys.."

"Boys? Like, you have a crush on a boy or something? Or did some boy try to harass you again? Because if he did, just tell me where and when cause' I am down to beating the ever-loving -"

"No!" Lynn shouted, earning her a confused look from Juniper. Lynn shranked in embarrassment, but continued, "No.. it wasn't any of that, Junes. Well, maybe the first part.."

Juniper raised her eyebrow as she tilted her head to one side. "What, you mean you have a crush on someone?"

Lynn let out another sigh. "Yes..? No..? It's.. it's complicated."

"Lynn, just lay it on me," Juniper said as she wore a genuinely understanding smile on her face.

"You promise you won't tell anyone whatever it is I'm about to tell you?" Lynn looked straight into Juniper's eyes, peering deep into them.

"I promise Lynn," Juniper vowed as she placed a reassuring hand on Lynn's shoulder. "I won't tell _anyone_."

Lynn didn't know if this was the right thing to do; to reveal something so.. taboo.. to one of her best friends. But she trusted Juniper, maybe with her life even. And she needed to do this, or else it would continue eating at her heart.

_'Shit, here goes nothing.'_

Lynn swallowed a lump in her throat before mustering up the courage to speak. "It's about.. Lincoln."

Juniper simply stared at her dumbfoundedly. "Lincoln? What about him?"

Lynn couldn't bear to look her in the eyes if she was going to say this, so instead she turned her gaze downwards. "I.. I kissed him."

Lynn was only met with silence from Juniper. She lifted her head up to see a bewildered look on Juniper's face, like her brain was still trying to process her words.

"Y-You kissed him? L-Like in a sibling way or a r-romantic way?" Juniper sputtered out, her mind still yet to fully grasp the enormity of what Lynn had just told her.

Lynn threw her head in her hands.

"No.." Lynn said as she continued to bury her face in her hands.. "I don't fucking know.."

Lynn's response only elicited another confused look from Juniper. But due to her initial shock, Juniper's tone came out more accusatory than she'd intended. "Y-You don't know? Lynn, are you telling me that-"

"I don't fucking know!" Lynn cried out, her voice oozing with hurt and pain. Her lashing out had caused Juniper to flinch and retract a little. Juniper had never seen Lynn in such anguish before.. Juniper wanted to reply, to take back her words, but then she saw the droplets of tears slowly seeping through Lynn's fingers. Lynn was crying..

She didn't waste any time to wrap Lynn in a hug, bringing her head to rest on her chest as she tried her best to soothe her best friend.

"Shh.. calm down, Lynn. Calm down, it's okay," she whispered softly into Lynn's ear.

"I-It's not okay. Nothing's fucking okay," Lynn managed to say between her sobs.

"Shh.. Lynn. Just tell me what happened. Please." Each sob from Lynn felt like a stab to her heart. She'd never seen the star athlete cry like this before, and Lynn was the most tomboy-ish girl she'd ever known, so her crying only revealed how badly this problem was affecting her.

"I… I kissed him last night. We were coming back f-from the party. I was drunk, so he carried me into my room," Lynn managed to explain as her sobs softened. She then continued, "I don't know what came over me. Next thing I know, I pull him to my bed and.. and kiss him."

Juniper sat there in silence as she continued to comfort the crying Lynn. It was so much to take in. What sort of advice _do_ you give to someone who's just kissed her brother?

Eventually, Juniper asked the burning question, "Have you talked to Lincoln yet?"

She could feel Lynn's body freeze at that very moment, before she suddenly shifted around uncomfortably in their embrace. "N-No.."

"Lynn? Why not?" Juniper said in the most soft and sympathetic voice she could muster.

"I.. I'm terrified. Terrified of how he thinks of me.. I've ruined our entire relationship and he probably hates me now..," Lynn said, her voice breaking as a new batch of tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.

"Lynn, you don't know that. He wouldn't hate you.."

"Why wouldn't he? I'm his big sister, and I just fucking committed one of the greatest sins known to.. to siblings. I'm.. I'm a fucking monster.."

"Lynn, don't say that. You're not a monster."

Lynn let out a small sniffle as she pulled away from Juniper's hug, revealing the swollen and bloodshot eyes that'd been caused by her crying. "You don't understand June.. I.. I love him."

Juniper's confusion morphed into shock, and then it subsequently morphed into realisation. This was a revelation, something that even Lynn's parents probably didn't know about. And here she was confessing about it to her! Lynn trusted her that much.. Juniper's previously conflicted feelings were quick to fade away from her heart, and instead morphed into determination. A determination to prove to Lynn that her trust in her was well placed.

Lynn continued even though she was barely able to hold back the sobs and tears continuing to flow down her cheeks. "A-And I know it's wrong. I never wanted this to happen.." Lynn paused once she noticed the unbearable silence between the two. "You probably think I'm a disgusting monster too, don't you?" Lynn said almost hopelessly, like all life had been sapped out of her soul.

But Lynn received the polar opposite reaction from Juniper. She'd clasped her hands around Lynn's cheeks, pulling her into a deep and soul-piercing stare.

"Lynn, listen to me. You. Are not. A monster. Not to me. And not to Lincoln." Juniper sighed before continuing, "You're my best friend, Lynn. You know I'd never think you were disgusting. And look, I know this is.. taboo.. but love is _love._ And I won't shame you for feeling this way, alright?" Any feeling of disgust about such a taboo act was immediately thrown out of her mind. She couldn't give less of a shit about that if her best friend was crying like this.

The lifeless look in Lynn's eyes slowly went away to reveal a shred of hope. "R-Really? You're not disgusted?"

"No. No I'm not Lynn," Juniper said as she pulled her best friend into yet another hug. "It's not my place to judge your feelings for him. I don't know what you're going through.. But what I do know is that you _need_ to talk this out with Lincoln. He's your brother. He'll understand all of this. Trust me."

Lynn contorted at the mention of the whole idea. "I.. I'm not ready.. Not yet at least.."

"Lynn, you can't keep avoiding him like this," Juniper sighed.

Lynn slowly pulled herself away from the hug and let out a mellow sigh. "I.. I know. But I'm not ready to talk with him about this yet."

Juniper knew not to press Lynn to do something she didn't want to do. So for now, she'd relent. "Okay, Lynn. Okay."

They stayed silent for a while, with Juniper still holding Lynn in a side hug.

"J-June?" Lynn asked. "Do you think I can stay here for a bit? Just.. y'know.. so that I don't bump into Lincoln?"

Juniper was at a crossroads. This was unhealthy, but she needed to let Lynn feel comfortable. So she relented. "Sure Lynn… Whatever you need."

"Thanks Junes.."

Juniper wore a smile on her lips. "Don't mention it."

And with that, Lynn would spend her time in Juniper's dorm. And as a sort of 'payment' for bunking with Juniper, Lynn started work with her on their biology assignment.

Now, it was night time. Lynn was sitting on the edge of Juniper's bed, absent-mindedly playing with her phone when suddenly Juniper burst in through the front door. There was a look of worry and great concern on her face.

Lynn eyed her friend, her eyes falling onto something that made her heart almost leap out of her chest when she noticed it; a phone in Juniper's hand.

"Lynn.. _Lincoln_ just called." Juniper's voice was distraught, like she'd just met a ghost.

"L-Lincoln?" Lynn's face turned pale. She could feel her heartbeat drastically increase with just the mention of that name. "W-What did he say?"

"Lynn, he's worried about you! He said he's been looking everywhere for you!" Juniper let out a frustrated sigh as she sat down beside Lynn on the bed.

"He.. He did that?" The look of fear on Lynn's quickly changed into guilt. "No.." What did she just put her brother through?

"Lynn, he's scared. Just as scared as you are. And that's why you _need_ to talk to him. Please. Anymore of this and your relationship with him _will_ be ruined," Juniper said, her voice stern yet sympathetic.

"But I'm not ready... Not yet.." Lynn squeaked meekly as she curled up into a ball. She could feel the anxiety and fear flooding into her heart like a tidal wave. She turned her head only slightly to ask Juniper, "W-What did you tell him?"

Juniper sighed as her face contorted into a look of disappointment, particularly with herself. "I told him that.. that you were in the shower. I know how much you feel like you aren't ready, so I bought you some time. I told him you'd call him later. And now.. now I feel like shit for lying to him like that."

Lynn was surprised she'd even done that. "Juniper.."

They stayed in silence like that, with Juniper wearing a downtrodden frown on her lips and Lynn still curled up with her knees to her chest. The silence was eventually broken when a sigh escaped Juniper's lips.

"Lynn, you wanna know what else he said to me?"

Lynn kept silent, averting her eyes from Juniper's as she curled up even more into herself.

"He said to tell you that.. that he loves you. No matter what."

Lynn's eyes widened as she turned to look at Juniper. "He.. really said that?"

"Yes Lynn, he did. And that's why you need to talk to him. He still loves you Lynn. And he's worried sick about you. So please.." Juniper sighed, "..do the right thing."

Lynn didn't know how to feel. She knew Juniper was right. But she wasn't ready. She was terrified to confront Lincoln so soon, to face the fact that she'd crossed boundaries that should never have been crossed between two siblings.

But she needed to talk to Lincoln, to atone for what she'd put him through for the entire day. But she wasn't ready! And she never knew if she would ever be ready to talk about something so.. life-changing and relationship-shattering like this..

Her mind eventually relented. She couldn't escape reality, couldn't escape her sins.

"Alright, I will," Lynn sighed, "I will." But in the back of her mind, she knew - she wasn't ready.

She psyched herself up for the inevitable, giving herself some personal pep talks and doing some breathing exercises.

"C'mon, you got this Lynn. You can fucking do this," she whispered to herself.

But no matter what she told herself, she could never get rid of the doubt inside her heart. She couldn't shake off the anxiety and the worry of calling him. For the life of her, it gripped onto her soul like an iron fist, not willing to release her heart and let her face her demons.

But as the minutes passed, she could feel her heart beating in her neck. She was petrified. And those thoughts about him surfaced once more. Would he hate her? He had every right to. Would he find her a disgusting freak of nature that deserved no pity and forgiveness for committing the greatest sin known to siblings? He had every right to..

Her mind and soul were at war with each other, tearing her feelings apart with each damning thought that formed in her brain in the endless war raging in her head. She was scared to call him. But how long could she avoid him like this? She'd avoided him for the entire day, made him worry sick until he'd searched the entire campus for her. He didn't deserve to worry this much about her. Yet.. even with all the facts convincing her to call him, she was paralysed with fear. She wasn't ready. She didn't know what to think, what to feel anymore.

But she pressed on anyway, trying so hard to push those cowardly thoughts out of her mind. After close to an hour of pacing back and forth in Juniper's room, fighting a violent war of attrition with her own thoughts, she pulled out her phone. She swiped through her contacts, scrolling until she found his name.

~ _My Lame-O ~_

The picture she'd chosen for his contact.. it was of the two of them back when they were kids. It was a selfie of them, with Lynn's arm wrapped around Lincoln's shoulders, pulling him into a side hug. And as she gazed longingly at the picture, something in her mind flipped.

Those eyes of his, staring at the camera. No.. they were peering right at her, right into her soul. She wondered, what would he think of her then.. if he knew what sort of secret she'd been harbouring inside her? Would he.. would he be ashamed about his big sister, disgusted? Would he have treated her in the same kind, sweet and loving way that he'd always done with her and the rest of their sisters?

Everything seemed to go black in her mind, and soon an image began to materialize, a scene. She was surrounded by beige coloured walls, posters of Ace Savvy plastered all over it with a model airplane hanging on one side. There was a rack of orange polo t-shirts. Beneath her, a bed. And beside her..

_"Lincoln.."_

She had no control over her thoughts, and as the scene played out in her mind, all she could do was watch and imagine in agonizing horror and detail.

_"L-Lincoln? I have something to tell you."_

_"What is it Lynn?"_ There was that cheery grin with his signature chipped tooth of his.

_"Lincoln.. I... I love you. I love you as more than as a brother.."_

His toothy grin had disappeared, and instead, a nasty glare of contempt washed over his face. _"You're disgusting, Lynn."_

"No.. No.." Her dark thoughts had finally consumed her. And in one of the rare cases in the athlete's life, she had succumbed to her fear.

Her phone slipped from her hands, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks again. She collapsed onto her knees, throwing her head into her hands as she lost the ability to hold back her sobs.

Juniper realises this, quickly going towards Lynn to capture her in a hug.

"I'm not ready.. I'm not ready.." she weeps into her friend's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Lincoln.. I'm so sorry.."

All Juniper can do is stroke her hair gently, letting her best friend cry her heart out into her shoulder. She doesn't know what to tell Lynn anymore. Her heart tells her to convince Lynn to call him, to try everything she can to get her to do it, but a part of her realises that this isn't some relationship issue between a normal couple. This was.. forbidden love. And she could never know how much such a feeling could destroy the soul.

"I'm such a fucking coward.." she weeps. The athlete finds comfort in her friend's embrace, but it was never enough to overcome the guilt that she felt, the shame.

That night, Lynn had crawled into herself, cursed herself with every manner of curse words in existence, and weeped, with Juniper by her side to give her vain words of comfort. In her grief and shame, she'd forgotten the one thing Lincoln had told Juniper to tell her; _"I love you.. No matter what."_ Her anguish and guilt had blinded her from realising the truth - as it had done for the entire day - that Lincoln loved her.

And that night, she had gone back on her word to Juniper; she did not call Lincoln…


	8. Connecting Two Hearts

**Connecting Two Hearts**

As the morning sun shines its light into the room, Lincoln awakes. He doesn't bother to lift his hand to cover his face from the stinging rays of light coming from the window. He lies there on the couch for what feels like an eternity. All he can feel is hopelessness, restlessness.. He'd hoped with all his heart that Lynn would call. But.. it never came.

The realisation that he's late for his morning lecture doesn't even fill his heart with the usual fear anymore. His heart had been numbed by the depression from Lynn's absence. He gets up from the couch lazily, and walks into his room, putting on a new t-shirt. It was all he could bother to do. He didn't comb his hair, he didn't brush his teeth, he didn't even bother to have breakfast. All he did was take his bag and walk out the front door, not even bothering to make a dash to the lecture hall. He'd been sapped of all energy from last night, and by that point, he couldn't care anymore.

He reaches the lecture hall thirty minutes after the lecture itself had started. He finds a seat all the way at the back, sitting alone as he can barely see what the professor is writing on the worn out old blackboard. The restlessness of last night still haunted him even though he'd already slept, and now his eyelids were starting to feel like they weighed the entire world and more. Soon enough, he'd drifted off into sleep, darkness overwhelming his vision, followed by a few stray dreams scattered about in his restless nap.

"Loud.." He hears his name being called out.

"Loud!" He hears it again.

"Lincoln Loud!"

He jolts awake, his eyes dilating as the light floods into his retinas. His vision, blurry, eventually clears up to reveal the one person he'd dreaded to see in front of him; his professor.

"Lincoln Loud, were you sleeping in my class again?!"

His raspy voice floods his eardrums, jolting him into an upright position in his seat. He scans the look on his professor's face, seeing the angered look in that wrinkly, old face of his.

"S-Sorry professor. I didn't have much sleep last night and-"

"Enough excuses, _Loud_! You're incessant snoring has been interrupting the lecture for far too long! Fall asleep again, and I will have no choice but to order you to leave the hall!"

This professor of his had always been a pain in the ass. While the rest of Lincoln's professors were often chilled and laid back, this one seemed to have a vendetta out for any and all of his students.

As Lincoln straightened himself in his seat, and as the professor made his way back to the front of the hall, he noticed the looks of people around him. They all had their eyes on him, some of them giving him a nasty glare, and it was all because his nap had just made him look like a lazy fool to the rest of the hall. Normally, he'd be embarrassed to the moon and back about this happening to him, but today.. he couldn't care less. All he could think about was Lynn.

As the lecture ended, he saw a familiar sight approach him.

"Lincoln, dude.. You look like you haven't slept in ages."

Connor, one of the few friends he'd made since he arrived in college. One of the few people here who actually liked Ace Savvy too.

"Yea.. I guess you could say that," Lincoln said as he laid his head back down onto his seat's foldable table.

Connor gave him a concerned look, but thought nothing of it. This wasn't the first time Lincoln had looked like this. College was tough, so Lincoln must've pulled an all-nighter again.

But Connor didn't have much time to ponder and ask why his friend was looking like shit. "Anyway dude, I gotta go. You take care of yourself now, Lincoln."

Lincoln could only wave as Connor made his way out of the lecture hall, leaving Lincoln alone along with the rest of the students who were making their way out as well. After a good few minutes of rest on the table, Lincoln had regained some semblance of energy to continue on with the tiresome slog that was his usual day in college. He got up and dragged his feet to the next lecture hall.

As Lincoln made his way through the labyrinthine halls of the campus, all he could focus on was Lynn.. He looked down towards the floor as he walked, his head too heavy to bother looking up and see where he was going. Of course, that was an accident waiting to happen. And today it seemed that the universe had just proven Murphy's Law correct, since Lincoln had unfortunately bumped into someone.

He felt a hard thud against his chest and before he knew it he'd fallen straight onto his ass. He heard the thump of books falling to the floor, along with an annoyed groan.

And oh boy, whoever it was he had the misfortune of colliding into sure wasn't happy in the slightest.

"Hey! Watch where you're-"

That voice, feminine, familiar.. He'd heard it many times before..

He looked up to see the unfortunate person, and when he did, his eyes widened - and so did the person he'd just collided with.

"L-Lincoln.."

"Juniper.."

They stared at each other, an awkward and tense silence quickly enveloping the two of them. Neither of them knew how to react, what to say. People continued to pass by besides them, giving them the expected odd glare.

Before the atmosphere between them could grow any more tense, Juniper acted. She offered Lincoln a hand and pulled him up from the ground, dusting his body as she did so.

"Lincoln, I-I'm so sorry.." she apologized profusely as she continued to dust Lincoln's body.

"It's okay Juniper, seriously. It was an accident. I should be the one apologising to-"

"No!" Her sudden outburst made Lincoln flinch in shock a little, and Juniper seemed to notice it since she too retracted into herself in embarrassment.

"No- I mean.. I'm not talking about _that_.. I'm.." Juniper paused as she breathed in a heavy breath, a solemn look quickly forming on her face, "I'm sorry about last night."

The initial confusion on Lincoln's face softened. "Juniper.."

"I tried Lincoln. I tried so hard.." Juniper let out a defeated sigh as she leaned back against the wall, allowing the sea of people starting to flood the hallways to make their way past with ease. Lincoln followed suit, leaning onto the wall beside her.

"Juniper, you know you don't have to apologise for that.."

Juniper's face scrunched up in a mix of frustration and self-disappointment as she folded her arms. "No, I _have_ to. I know how worried you were about her, and how much you needed to hear from her after she up and disappeared from you. And yet.. I lied to you.."

Lincoln furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Lied to me? What do you mean?"

"She wasn't in the shower Lincoln.. I just said that to buy her some time. I'm sorry Lincoln.." Juniper hung her head low in shame, avoiding eye contact with Lincoln, expecting him to glare daggers at her for betraying his trust in her.

Yet, when she glanced at him, she found a soft look on his face, a sympathetic one. "I don't blame you. I know you were just trying to help Lynn.. And I would've done the same if I was in your position," Lincoln sighed. "But all I wanna know is… why didn't she call me back?"

Juniper heaved another sigh, this time both out of relief and sadness. Relief that Lincoln had forgiven her on the spot, and sadness for.. last night.

"Before I answer that, there's something I need to tell you, Linc." She cleared the lump in her throat, "I.. I know.. about all of it. Lynn told me last night what this was all about.."

Expecting another glare from Lincoln, this time, all she found was the same soft look in his eyes. "I figured as much.." Lincoln sighed.

"And before you say anything else - no, I won't judge her _or_ you for whatever you guys are feeling. I don't have the right to do that. All I want is for you two to get back together again, because seeing Lynn like this is-"

She hadn't even managed to finish her sentence before she found herself wrapped into a hug by a pair of arms.

"Thank you. Thank you so much Juniper.." Lincoln's voice overflowed with genuine gratitude as he tightened the hug with Juniper.

Juniper responded likewise, hugging him back. "Don't mention it, Linc. You guys are my best friends.."

The hug was short, but it filled Lincoln with happiness, because for once in that dreary morning, he'd found something to give him hope. Once they'd separated, Juniper sighed as she prepared herself to tell Lincoln about last night's events.

"Lynn.. she wasn't ready. I don't know what got into her. When she tried to call you, she just.. she just broke into tears, saying that she was sorry. Again and again." Juniper's eyes grew heavy, pain striking her heart as she recalled last night.

Lincoln almost felt physical pains in his heart at the explanation, and a fearful question popped up in his mind. "S-Sorry? Sorry about what?"

He knew the answer, but he so desperately hoped he was wrong.

"Sorry to _you_.. Lincoln. She kept thinking you hated her for.. for what happened on Saturday. She kept apologising again and again and again. I tried my best to tell her otherwise. I tried so hard.. But nothing worked.. I'm sorry Linc.."

His suspicions were true then.. Hearing about what Lynn had gone through last night was almost enough to tear his heart apart. To know, and to hear that she actually thought _he_ hated _her_.. He couldn't bear the thought. It took all his willpower to hold back the tears threatening to pool and overflow from his cheeks.

"Shit.." was all he could mutter under his breath. He held his head in his hands in worry. "Shit, shit, shit.."

"I'm so sorry, Linc.." Juniper apologized again, her voice now shaky and dreary.

"N-No.. it's okay Junes. You did all you could.." Lincoln said as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "B-But do you know where she is at least?"

Juniper shook her head. "I.. I don't know myself. She was gone when I woke up. I've tried to call her, but she just won't pick up. All I can think of is that she probably went to her morning lectures or something... "

Lincoln sighed. The chances of him finding Lynn were growing slim by the minute. But he needed to press on, and deep in his heart he knew that he'd see her again eventually.

"Right.." he sighed to himself. Things were not looking great, in fact, they were looking to be pretty fucking hopeless right about then.

He took a glance at his wristwatch, noticing the amount of time that had passed during their conversation, and his heart dropped even further knowing that now he was late.

"Shit.. I gotta go, June." Before he went to rush to his lecture, he gave Juniper a thankful smile and pulled her into a short hug. "Thanks June, for everything. You're a good friend."

Juniper hugged back in response with a smile on her face. "Don't mention it, Linc. And I know that you'll find her.. I know you will."

They broke away from the hug and subsequently nodded to each other, and with that, they were both off to their respective lectures.

His lecture was a slog, all of it was really. Time couldn't pass by any slower, and the 'what ifs' and different scenarios running wild in his mind about what he could've done yesterday were making him lose focus in class. Thankfully, the rest of his professors weren't as keen observers as his other professor was, so they didn't bother him at all. Left with his thoughts, all he could think of was Lynn and the conversation he'd had with Juniper..

With each subsequent lecture, Lincoln's heart only grew more restless and depressed. The events of the past two days were eating at his soul, and his thoughts were always clinging to Lynn - about what she was feeling, about talking to her and confessing to her.

 _'Fuck,'_ he cursed to himself. He should've confessed to her when he could.. but that was long in the past now. No use crying over spilled milk.

Finally, by 5 'o' clock, he was free. With no more lectures in his schedule to hold him back, he was eager to meet Lynn. But then, it dawned on him. He didn't know where she was. Was he going to go on a wild goose chase again across the campus to try to find her? He came to the conclusion that it would just end up like yesterday's fiasco..

Should he try to call Lynn? Maybe she'd pick up this time? But the pessimist inside him convinced him otherwise, reminding him of the tens of times he'd tried that yesterday. If she had refused yesterday, then there was no reason she would answer now. Maybe if he tried texting, maybe that would work?

He gave it a shot, but as soon as he'd sent a message, he'd received a notification that it had failed to send. Lynn must've blocked him..

He heaved a worried sigh as he brought his hand up to his weary head. "Lynn.. why are you doing this to me?"

He was hopeless. He felt like giving up, and he hadn't even started. But even if he wanted to act, he still didn't know where Lynn was, and texting had proven useless. The only choice he had was to go back to his apartment. There was nothing else he could do.. not if Lynn wasn't ready to talk to him..

He made his way back to his apartment, his heart burdened by the heavy feelings of hopelessness and uselessness. How long would this last? How long more would Lynn continue to avoid him like this? Why didn't she realise that _he_ loved her just as much as she loved him? Why, why, why?

"So many questions.. so little answers," he sighed to himself.

The evening sun was slowly starting to dip into the horizon once he'd finally reached his apartment complex. He got into the elevator and pressed the number to his floor. He leaned his head against the elevator wall, breathing out a hopeless sigh as he asked himself, _'Where are you Lynn?'_

Eventually, as the elevator stopped and its doors opened, he made his way to his apartment. It was usually his safe haven, the one thing he'd felt made his day a good day, especially if Lynn was around. But today.. today all he felt was contempt for it. He'd wasted so much time in it, time that could've been spent to find Lynn..

He fished his keys out of his pocket and promptly unlocked the door. He lazily pushed it open, throwing his bag haphazardly to one side of the entrance before taking his phone out just to read his news feed.

But he stopped in his tracks. He heard something. It was coming from the living room.

He slowly tiptoed from the front door towards the living room. As he got closer and closer, the sound was starting to become much clearer. It was.. sniffling.. and sobbing? He didn't know what it was, but it definitely sounded odd. As he finally had a good view of the space, he saw a figure on the couch. And as his vision focused, his heart stopped.

Brunette hair, red jacket with a '1' on the sleeve.. She was there.. The one person he'd been trying to find for the past two days;

"Lynn.."

She was curled up on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. He could hear the sobs coming from her, the quiet sniffles. She didn't notice him, and each cry and sob she let out was another stab to his heart.

He slowly approached her, taking care not to startle her. Once he knew he was close enough, he finally made his presence known.

"L-Lynn?"

He heard the gasp and the squeak from Lynn, and as she pulled her head from out of her fetal position, he could finally see her face. And it almost tore him apart.

She had very pronounced eye bags under her eyes, and those eyes of hers… they were bloodshot beyond comparison. Her hair was no longer in its usual ponytail, but instead untied, free to flow and disheveled. Looking at her like this, seeing the sadness in her face, he could only wonder, how long had she been here, crying like this? How long had she been tearing her heart out?

"L-Lincoln.." she squeaked, but she said nothing more, eyeing him with a mixture of fear and guilt in those eyes of hers.

She was scared..

"Shh.. Lynn. It's okay, c'mere." Before she could even flinch or move away, Lincoln had closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her to his chest, resting his head on top of hers. He shushed her, saying sweet nothings into her ear.

"Shh.. Lynn. It's okay. You don't have to cry anymore.. It's okay.." he whispered softly into her ear.

She felt tense to his touch, like she was in her fight or flight mode. But as he continued to stroke her hair and whisper into her ear, she eased like jelly, relaxing against him and resting her head against his chest.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Lincoln continuing to comfort her as Lynn stayed silent. Her sobs had grown softer, but never gone, and with each sob she took, her body hitched. All Lincoln could do was hold her, hoping that his warmth and touch would soothe her aching heart. Eventually, Lynn's coarse and quiet voice finally broke through the silence.

"L-Lincoln.. I'm sorry.." she squeaked into his chest. Her voice, coarse as sandpaper, only revealed to him how long and how intense she'd been crying before he'd arrived.

Lincoln heaved a sad sigh, wrapping his arms around her just a little tighter, his face contorting into a look of deep sadness. "No. You have _nothing_ to be sorry about Lynn. Nothing at all."

He could hear her voice quivering as she spoke, "But I _did_ do something Lincoln! I did.. s-something so horrible. Something so.. disgusting. I'm.. I'm a horrible sister, Linc.. I'm so sorry."

Hearing her tear her own heart out in guilt and shame was destroying his soul. Each cry and sob she let out was another piece of his heart torn brutally out of his chest. He stifled back the sobs threatening to break his calm and reassuring facade, breathing in the tears as he prepared to speak again.

"Lynn, d-don't ever say that. You're not a horrible sister, and you never will be, okay? Not to me, and not to anyone else. You're the best sister a brother could ever ask for, you hear me?"

He heard her stifle a sob before speaking, "How.. H-How can you say that after.. a-after what I did to you last night? Don't you hate me? O-or think I'm a disgusting bitch for k-kissing you?!"

Lincoln almost couldn't believe his ears. How could Lynn ever think that he'd feel that way to her, the love of his life?

"Lynn, listen to me," he started, his voice now taking on more conviction, yet still shaky with sadness hidden within it, "I would _never ever_ in my life, hate you. I could never, even if I tried.. And you wanna know why?"

He breathed in for a second, preparing himself for what he was about to say. This was it… he was going to finally let Lynn know how he really felt about her.

"Because.. Because I _love_ you goddammit!" he exclaimed with all his heart, "I love you so much. So so much.. I always have, a-and I always will Lynn. I've loved you for.. God knows how long. And all this time I was beating myself up about it because.. because I was scared that you wouldn't love me the same way. I was scared that you'd hate me if I ever told you my feelings."

Lynn simply stayed still as Lincoln gave his heartfelt speech to her. Her brain was on the verge of a meltdown at what she was hearing, her ragged breaths being the only response to Lincoln's words.

The white-haired teen sighed as he continued, "I know how you're feeling right now, Lynn. I was scared too, just like you.. But ever since Saturday night, when you kissed me, I knew.. that you loved me too.."

He felt Lynn moving away from his chest, her head finally moving up to look him in the eyes. That once deep look of sadness in her pupils had all but disappeared, instead replaced with one of surprise. Her bloodshot eyes were wide open, her mouth slightly agape.

"You.. you love me? L-Like.. _l-love_ me? L-Like romantic love? A-and not sibling love?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this.. real?

Lincoln peered deeply into her eyes, resting his hand on Lynn's cheek as he pulled her face closer to his. "I _love_ you, Lynn. I always have. And I always will. You're the love of my life Lynn."

Lynn could only stare at him, awestruck by his words. Her heart felt like it was going to leap straight out of her chest. She didn't even know what to say.. But she didn't need to use words to convey the pure happiness she was feeling in her heart, since the wide smile on her lips and that starry look in her eyes were proof enough of her feelings.

But unfortunately, there were other feelings wrestling their way into her heart too.. Feelings that were reluctant to release their iron grip from her heart, no matter what Lincoln had just told her. That same smile of awe and love, so radiant before, slowly faded away to reveal an uncertain look on her face.

"B-But why?" she asked in a quiet whisper.

Lincoln raised his eyebrow. "Why what?"

"W-Why love _me_? I'm just some.. some asshole who keeps calling you names a-and the asshole who used to roughhouse you back when we were kids." Her voice was shaky now, the fear and doubt present before quickly making its way back into heart. Lynn separated from Lincoln's embrace, inching ever so further away from his warm touch.

"Lynn, what are you-"

"I've hurt you so many times Lincoln.. So many _many_ times. I.. I can't even count the number of times I've given you bruises o-or given you sprains all because of my stupid roughousing. I even broke your arm once Lincoln! Your fucking arm!" she said, her smile now gone, swept away by a look of anguish. She avoided his confused gaze, and continued to explain.

"Lincoln.. I'm some.. tomboy jock, some ugly asshole who keeps hurting the people she loves. You're.. you're always so kind, so sweet to me, a-and all I ever do in return is roughhouse you and beat you up." Her head hung low as the tears pooled in her eyes again.

"You.. you deserve someone better Lincoln."

The tears pooling in her eyes were already making their way down her cheeks. She knew deep down in her heart that someone so brutish like her didn't deserve someone like him, someone so kind and gentle.

But before she could inch away any further, she felt the same pair of arms wrap around her again, this time pulling her back into Lincoln's warmth.

"No.. that's not true. That's not true at all!" Lincoln cried with a broken voice.

As Lynn looked behind her in her shock, she finally took notice of the sadness in Lincoln's eyes, the tears welling up inside them. All the while she'd been tearing her own heart out, she didn't realise that she was doing the same thing to Lincoln's..

"Lynn, none of that is true," he started, stifling back a sob threatening to escape from his quivering lips. "None of that is fucking true. You're the most caring person I know. That's why I fell in love with you Lynn, because you were my best friend. Because you always protected me. Because you were the big sister who I've always looked up to.."

His eyes, full of passion and tears, peered deep into her soul as he continued. "I know that you think that you're rough or tomboy-ish, but.. but to me.. you're beautiful Lynn. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever had the honour to lay my eyes on. And all those times you bruised me or b-broke my arm, I know that they were all accidents. And I know that roughousing was just your way of showing that you loved me."

"Y-You really think that about me Linc?" was all the words Lynn could muster up. Her brain was pretty much on the verge of another meltdown from Lincoln's words - again.

"I do.. and I always have and I always will." Lincoln breathed in long and hard, finally preparing to say the one thing he'd always wanted to tell her. "Don't you understand Lynn? I love you. And there's no one else in the world I'd rather be with."

Lincoln looked to her expectantly, hoping to see some sort of reaction from her after all of.. _that_. But what he found was Lynn crying even harder than before, more tears streaming down her face than ever. Shit, his speech was supposed to do the exact _opposite_.

"L-Lynn? You.. you okay?" He reached out to her, gently encapsulating his hands around hers, hoping for an answer. Concern was drawn all over his face.

"No.. No I'm not," was Lynn's answer as her eyes continued to gaze downwards, away from his view, and Lincoln immediately felt his heart plummet to rock bottom.

But his worries were set aside by Lynn's soft giggles.

"I'm _more_ than okay. I'm.. I'm so happy, Linc. So happy," she giggled, and with each giggle the tears only trickled their way faster down her cheeks. "I.. I don't even know what to say. Noone's ever said something like that to me, Linc."

Lincoln, his heart finally set at ease, moved in to wrap Lynn in a hug. He felt her arms snaking their way to his back, pulling them closer together.

"Did you really mean all of it?" Lynn asked, a stubborn part of her mind still refusing to accept what she'd heard.

"All of it, Lynn. All of it.." Lincoln replied, tightening their hug further.

After a few seconds of silence in their embrace, Lynn spoke again, and this time with another question that'd been eating at her for some time now.

"Wait, but what about your crush?" Lynn asked having separated a little from the hug so that she could look up at Lincoln.

The white-haired teen let out a quiet little chuckle, earning him a confused stare from Lynn.

"Lynn.. that crush of mine.. she's right here in front of me."

Lynn's brain took a few seconds to truly comprehend what he'd just said to her. And then it clicked.

"Y-You fucking asshole!" she said, lightly tapping her fist against Lincoln's shoulder as a giggle escaped her lips. Tears ran down her eyes, but they were tears of joy. "You were lying to me all this time? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Lincoln chuckled, the burdens of his heart alleviating as he saw that joyous smile on Lynn's lips.

"You never gave me the chance to."

That smile had almost broken away from her face again when Lynn realised what he'd meant. She never called him last night, never allowed him the chance to tell her that he loved her the same way she did.. Because of her cowardice. Because she succumbed to her fear..

"I.. I'm sorry.."

Lincoln immediately noticed that look on Lynn's face, and he quickly soothed her. "Shh.. It's okay Lynn. None of that matters now. What matters now is that you're here, with me. And.. And I love you Lynn. I will _always_ love you. No matter what."

Her face softened once more at Lincoln's reassurance. But there was one final question eating away at her heart that she needed to know the answer to. The one question that she knew both of them had been struggling with for so long.

"B-But.. are you sure you want this? I-I mean.. _us_.."

"Lynn, what are you saying?" His finger gently brushed her cheek, eliciting a blush from her.

"What I mean is.. are you sure you want to go through all the challenges of.. _this_ type of relationship? With me? You could go for any other girl in the world, and they'd fall for you. But are you sure you want to end up in something.. illegal _and_ sinful w-with _me_?"

Lincoln stayed silent for a moment, but it wasn't out of any hesitancy to answer Lynn's question. No, he'd found the answer to that dreaded question ever since Lynn had kissed him the other night. He stayed silent as he gently leaned his forehead against hers, their noses almost touching each other, their eyes staring directly into each other's souls.

"Lynn.. you don't know how long I've loved you. And for as long as I've loved you, I've been struggling with those thoughts every single day of my life f-for _years_ just thinking about my love for you."

Lincoln heaved a little sigh. "I know it's wrong. I know it is.. And my brain's been trying to convince me that it's wrong for too fucking long. But I've made up my mind, Lynn. I don't care about some laws or s-some rules in some book, I just want _you._ I love you, Lynn. And.. nothing will ever make me change my mind about that."

Life had returned to Lynn's eyes as she stared back at him. A soft, sweet smile broke out all over her lips. She'd gotten her answer; Lincoln was sure.

"What about you, Lynn? Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Lynn looked away from him for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She knew how challenging it would be to do something like this.. to love her brother like this. The entire world would be against her; law, religion, her family..

"I.. I know shit's only gonna get harder from here on out. But y'know what? I don't care. I don't care what anyone else has to say o-or think about any of this. I don't give a shit. And I'm done thinking that this is wrong. I want _this_ , Lincoln. And I'm ready. So ready."

She took in a deep breath before shooting Lincoln a determined smile. "I know that we can do this - together. Just you and me against the world," she said with her voice taking on a whole new tone of conviction and confidence.

Lincoln couldn't suppress his grin any longer. She was ready. And he was ready too. And that was all that ever mattered.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear that, Lynn," Lincoln said, joyful tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "I love you so much, and there's no one else in the world I'd rather spend my life with."

Lynn purred at the thought of them growing old, spending their lives together as lovers and soul mates. It was her dream..

Lynn sighed. How did she get so lucky? To have someone like him fall for her, it was almost impossible to imagine. Yet.. here she was.

"I love you too, Linc."

Time stopped around them, and the only thing either of them could focus on was each other. Not the war of the thoughts of legality or morality raging in their heads, not the consequences of their forbidden love, none of that. Just each other. For Lincoln, it was the foolhardy and amazing sister he'd always looked up to. And for Lynn, it was the kind and loving brother she'd fallen for all those years ago. Nothing else would ever push these loving thoughts out of their minds.

This time, it wasn't Lynn that had pulled them into the sweet embrace of their lips. No, it had been Lincoln this time, his hand gently pulling Lynn closer towards him, until their lips were mere inches apart. And after an agonizing two days of hardship and heartbreak, they were finally connected once more.

And this time, they were at harmony with themselves. No influence of liquor to cloud any of their minds, no doubts and worries to hold their hearts back, just pure, unadulterated love for each other. As they kissed, their silent tears trickled down their cheeks, the tears of all of their longing and heartache - and now.. it was all flowing out of them. They were finally together, their love requited at last.

Their kiss was gentle, slow. They knew that this time, there was no reason to rush, no fear of heartbreak or misunderstandings. Their lips tenderly touched, just enjoying each other's taste and warmth.

Lincoln guided his hand to Lynn's head, burying his fingers in her soft, brunette hair as he gently pulled her closer to him, deepening their kiss. Another hand went to wrap around her by the waist, bringing her close until they were chest to chest. Lynn's hand acted likewise, with her placing it behind Lincoln's head as her fingers ran through his soft white hair. Her other hand went to his cheek, gently caressing it as she moaned softly into his lips.

They separated after a few minutes of locking their lips, only to collect their breaths. In the few seconds disconnected, the both of them stared at each other lovingly, unable to tear their eyes away from one another.

Lincoln let out a small, satisfied sigh that filled his lungs with the air of content and peace. He'd never felt so satisfied in his life before. And the answer to it all was staring him right in the face.

"I love you, Lynn.."

A small giggle escaped Lynn's mouth. For years she'd yearned for this feeling, the feeling of being with Lincoln, of finally being able to open up her heart to him. And now, her dreams were coming true.

"I love you too, Linc.."

She'd never felt happiness like this before. Not even winning the championships against the Hazeltucky Lions gave this sort of.. 'ecstasy' that she was feeling.

They connected lips again, this time a little more intense than before. But in the heat of the moment, Lynn had grown a little too passionate, tugging and gently biting on Lincoln's lips like she'd read on this one blog about kissing tips. And, well, her clumsiness and inexperience had gotten the better of her.

"Ow!"

Lynn's heart and passion sank like the Titanic when she heard Lincoln yelp. She separated from him and opened her eyes, only to see Lincoln holding a finger to his lips.

There was blood. And oh fuck.. she must've caused that. _'Lynn, you fucking idiot! Why did you have to bite on his lip so fucking hard?!'_

"Oh shit, L-Linc, you're bleeding. Ah fuck, I'm such a fucking idiot! Wait, lemme get a tissue and-"

Before she could scurry off to find a tissue, she felt an arm holding her back. She turned around to find Lincoln chuckling.

"Lynn, it's okay, really. I can handle a little pain."

"B-But Linc-"

She'd been cut off midway through her sentence by a pair of lips encapsulating her own. She melted almost instantly at the sweet sensation again. And this time, they continued where they'd left off. She could taste the metallic taste of the little drop of blood on Lincoln's lips, but she couldn't care about that at all.

Their initial clumsiness had caused a few bumps on the nose and banging of teeth, but as they kissed and kissed again, that all came to pass. Their tongues coalesced and danced around each other, exploring each other's mouths after having dreamt about it in their wildest imaginations.

They kissed again, and again, for what felt like hours to them, only breaking apart every so often to take in a fresh breath of air before diving back into each other's lips. Each kiss was so full of passion, so full of love that had been locked for so agonisingly long within their hearts. And they kissed and kissed to make up for all those years of longing, of not confessing to each other..

Eventually, their intense kisses slowed down, turning into short chaste kisses on the lips as they relaxed into each other. Night had long set in, and in all their passion and love, they'd totally forgotten about dinner. But they couldn't care less about that. Not when they had the one thing they'd been wanting for so long in their arms;

Each other.

As they cuddled on the couch, with Lynn resting against Lincoln's chest, listening to his comforting heartbeat, and with Lincoln burying his nose in Lynn's brunette hair, they both knew;

This was the life they'd wanted.

And this was the life they were going to lead from there on out.

They were a couple now. They knew that there would be hardships along the way, challenges that they'd have to inevitably face. But right then, they didn't care, they didn't worry.

Because they had each other. And nothing was going to keep them apart anymore. And together, him being the man with the plan and her being the star athlete..

..they could take on the entire world.

* * *

**END**


End file.
